Is Dallas Cowboys’ DeMarco Murray on the Arizona Cardinals’ radar?
Mar 3, 2015, 6:26 PM | Updated: 6:27 pm
The Arizona Cardinals have made no secret about their desire to upgrade the running game.
Though they are still very high on Andre Ellington, the second-year back’s injury issues last season, along with his slighter build, make him less of a certainty to be the every-down back Bruce Arians would like to have.
So, as the offseason gets underway, the team will most likely look to add more talent to their backfield, and according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, they may be in on the best running back available in the free agent market: DeMarco Murray.
The 27-year-old is coming off a season in which he ran for 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns. The Dallas Cowboys decided not to place the franchise tag on him, though, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Rapoport said it’s unlikely Murray will return to Big D, and named the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars as potential suitors.
NFL.com’s Chris Wessling went over the four teams Rapoport mentioned, and wrote this about the Cardinals:
Like the Colts, the Cardinals have also been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Adrian Peterson. Arizona learned the hard way that Andre Ellington isn’t built for workhorse responsibilities.
Murray is likely to command a hefty salary, and though the Cardinals are set to have nearly $14 million in available cap space, they may decide against tying most of it up in one player — especially a running back.
However, players of Murray’s caliber rarely become available in their prime, and there’s little doubt adding him to the roster would give Arizona’s struggling running game a big-time boost.