PHOENIX — DeMarco Murray is hoping to get paid by the Cowboys soon, and another top workhorse running back playing in Super Bowl XLIX helps his cause.
Murray doesn't think backs like him and the Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch are undervalued in today's NFL, given their importance as centerpieces in run-heavy offenses.
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“Different teams have different needs," said Murray, who spoke to Sporting News and other reporters after joining SAP and the NFL on a fantasy football panel. "Everyone doesn’t have the same offense. Marshawn, he sets the tone for that entire team.”
While Seattle needs to mull over whether to keep the older Lynch in 2015, Murray is in his prime and needs a new contract. The Cowboys are weighing just how much to pay Murray, as they also need to give wide receiver Dez Bryant a lucrative new deal.
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To that end, Murray appreciates that coach Jason Garrett recently called him the "identity" of the Cowboys.
“I knew the role that I had as a person and a player for that organization," Murray said. "I knew it starts up front in the trenches and finishes with me and how I run the ball, how I play. I think guys feed off that energy. I knew for us to be physical, I had to step up and be that light.”
If Murray comes back to play in Dallas, he expects another heavy workload after winning the NFL's rushing title in 2014. His 398 carries put him just short of the five running backs in league history who have carried it 400 or more times in a single season.
“I feel great, I feel fantastic, I feel fresh. I always expect to get the ball, get a quite a few touches.”
