No Deal Imminent Between Cowboys & DeMarco Murray Despite Contract Offer

Update:

Mike Florio of Football Talk reports that contract talks between the Cowboys and RB DeMarco Murray are “very preliminary” right now and no deal is imminent at this point in time.

Florio points out that the report of the Cowboys offering Murray a higher salary than any running back received on the open market this past year aren’t surprising given that it would run them close to $3.5 million annually.

It would cost the Cowboys over $9.5 million or so to franchise Murray next year, so as long as he can stay healthy, he should have a good opportunity at securing a solid contract.

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Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reports that the Cowboys have offered RB DeMarco Murray a brand new four-year contract.

Rapoport adds that the Cowboys offer is worth more than any running back received as a free agent in 2014.

• ESPN’s Ed Werder reported earlier this week that the Cowboys are willing to sign Murray to a contract extension during the season if they can find middle ground in terms of his value.

While the Cowboys may have offered him a better deal than any free agent running back received this past offseason, that still may not be enough for the two sides to reach an agreement.

Toby Gerhart wound up being the highest paid running back when signed a three-year, $10.5 million contract that included $4.5 million guaranteed.

Murray, 26, has been extremely impressive to start the season as he’s ran for 534 yards on 99 carries (5.4 YPC) and has scored five touchdowns. He has also contributed 68 yards receiving on nine receptions. More importantly than his stats, the Cowboys are wining games when they get him more involved.

Murray is entering the final year of his rookie contract and stands to make a base salary of $1.406 million for the 2014 season.

Murray would fair pretty well on the open market as long as he can stay healthy for the remainder of the season.