NFL: NOT FOR LONG

The NFL’s free agency signing period begins next week and the class of players looking for new contracts will include a rarity – the league’s Offensive Player of the Year.

DeMarco Murray, who led the NFL in rushing with 1,845 yards and tied for the lead in rushing touchdowns with 13, will very likely not be back with the Dallas Cowboys.

All NFL teams must keep their payments to players within the parameters of the salary cap, and Dallas elected on Monday to put the bulk of its available resources toward retaining brilliant wide receiver Dez Bryant. By naming Bryant their  franchise player – a term created in the collective bargaining agreement – the Cowboys agreed to pay Bryant $12.83 million on a one-year contract, unless they can work out a longer-term deal. Bryant is effectively removed from the free-agent market, but all of the franchise tag counts against the Cowboys’ cap in 2015.

While the NFL has become a passing league, smart teams value the running game. Murray won’t have trouble finding work or money. Several teams might have gone farther in the playoffs if they’d had even the threat of an effective running game and they’ll certainly give Murray a look – think of the Indianapolis Colts, the Arizona Cardinals, the Detroit Lions. The Seattle Seahawks could be interested if Marshawn Lynch opts to retire.

Running backs tend to have shorter years of productivity because of the pounding they take. But Murray is only 27, and he has played in all 16 games of a season only once in his four-year career. His heavy workload in the 2014 season was really the one he has endured.

The salary cap can put a team in a bind, forcing tough decisions. The Cowboys didn’t want to lose the gifted Bryant and they may well have sacrificed Murray in the process.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .