Why the Cowboys should not hit the panic button with the loss of Murray

Many Cowboys fans are up in arms with the departure of Demarco Murray to the Philadelphia Eagles. I wanted to see Murray back in Cowboys uniform as much as anyone, but I also have an appreciation for the Cowboys careful consideration of the salary cap in recent years. As I mentioned in my first post, Cowboys have made improvements towards eliminating bad contracts. The same fans upset currently about not paying Murray were probably the same ones unhappy about bad contracts 3-4 years ago. Here are a few reasons not to panic.

1. The Draft. This draft is perhaps the deepest running back draft in recent memory, most notably Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon in the first round. The Cowboys could also elect to sign a veteran like CJ Spiller and draft a back in the 4th round to develop. Keep in mind, all the players Cowboys have lost in free agency will lead to compensatory draft picks. Some really strong backs can be found in later rounds especially this year, and with the picks available the Cowboys will be in good position to do just that. 

2. Value. Murray had the best year of his career in a season where the Cowboys had perhaps the best run game coordinator in Bill Callahan and maybe the best offensive line in football. I believe both of those aspects inflated his value to a degree. Murray has also had injury issues at Oklahoma as well as his first 3 seasons with the Cowboys. After his workload last year, it would not be a surprise to see Murray regress. The Cowboys have paid him just over 2 million and gotten 4 good years from him after taking him in the third round. Continued good draft selection will enable them to try and do that again rather than pay him 42 million over the next 5 years.

3. Adrian Petersen. While this is not a likely scenario unless Petersen is cut, a signing of AP is always a possibility if he will take a smaller salary to play for his home town team.

4. Defense. With the saved cap space from the departure of Murray, Cowboys will have money to pursue a pass rusher. Greg Hardy has been thrown as a name out there, he may come cheap and is the most talented pass rusher in free agency.

Ultimately the Cowboys running game will likely regress to some degree in 2015, but that was likely even with the return of Demarco Murray. The best situation the Cowboys can hope for is they are able to improve the defense as a result and add a veteran running back as well as adding depth and youth through the draft.