The Cowboys were right to not franchise-tag DeMarco Murray, and if he ends up walking now, it would be far from the worst decision.
It would be nice to retain the NFL's leading rusher, but unless Murray takes a hometown discount after having an historic, prolific season, that won't happen.
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That should make several teams in need of a workhorse running back and with salary-cap room to splurge very happy. But Murray also needs to be happy with that situation, beyond the big long-term contract. Weighing all of that, here are the five best fits for Murray when he hits the league's unrestricted free-agent market Tuesday afternoon:
Colts. They are the leader in the clubhouse for many reasons. They have $41 million under the cap. Much like the Cowboys, they are a playoff team that's only a few missing pieces away from breaking all the way through to the Super Bowl. The Colts' most glaring offensive weakness last season was an injury-riddled and ineffective backfield, which led to hits racking up on Andrew Luck. The only downside is the Colts' offensive line needs to be a lot healthier and get an upgrade, or there will be a major dropoff in the run-blocking support Murray would get. But otherwise, everything lines up as mutually beneficial for suitor and player.
Raiders. They found a little late spark in their backfield from another Murray, Latavius, but the speedy youngster hasn't proven he can be healthy and reliable with a real workload. The Raiders have a whopping $55 million under the cap, so for a team with multiple needs, they can afford to pay DeMarco Murray. Offensively, their offseason is about raising the big-play quotient around second-quarterback Derek Carr, and they need to improve the running game to balance the gamebreaking receivers (see Randall Cobb and the draft) they're expected to target. Murray would give them a younger veteran in his prime, unlike what they've tried to do with Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew of late. For Murray, Oakland would offer the opportunity to break the bank that he probably won't get anywhere else.
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Chargers. They have to be tiring of not being able to count on Ryan Mathews to stay healthy, and the back they added as his insurance last season, Donald Brown, had a stretch of unavailability with a concussion. Murray in many ways is a runner similar to Mathews, and even though San Diego has built a strong passing identity with Philip Rivers and Mike McCoy, they need to reestablish their power on the ground. Two years ago, they were a playoff team with the No. 13 rushing offense. Last year, they missed a wild-card berth while ranked 30th in the category. Mathews shouldn't be re-signed, and they should consider Murray as the replacement. Murray, a Las Vegas native, would be closer th home on the West Coast, and like the Colts, the Chargers can be a factor in the AFC race.
Jaguars. They have more than $68 million in cap space, more than any team in the NFL. Jacksonville made the mistake of thinking Toby Gerhart could be its lead guy in 2014, but with the intent of putting Gerhart in more of a changeup/H-back role this year, its backfield has the all-clear to hand things off to Murray. He's a completely different and pricier type of free-agent option, but money would be no obstacle in giving Murray what he wants, and giving the team what it needs in as a complement for second-year quarterback Blake Bortles. Like the Raiders, what they can offer contract-wise has a lot more appeal than their rebuilding status in the short term.
Cowboys. Many other teams have been mentioned in the Murray derby, including the Cardinals, Seahawks, Jets, Falcons and Titans. Four of those teams could use any kind of upgrade in the backfield, and Seattle might, too, if Marshawn Lynch doesn't return. The Bills are out of the mix after trading for LeSean McCoy, but that also just made the Eagles an additional Murray suitor with enough cap room to get him. That new development with its NFC East rival actually plays in Dallas' favor. If McCoy is too rich for a team, Murray may not get ofers as lucrative as he expects anymore. In fact, his price could become nice enough to make the Cowboys real players again. The challenge remains finding a happy, creative medium in the contract, as Dallas has about only $6.5 million of current cap space.
