DeMarco Murray's autumn romp has the Dallas Cowboys interested in keeping the soon-to-be free agent around deep into the future.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport told NFL GameDay Morning that the 'Boys have offered Murray a four-year contract that would pay him more than any free-agent running back earned in 2014, per team sources.
He's never played in more than eight straight games, but Dallas believes Murray's talent outweighs his shaky injury history. The Cowboys want to make "absolutely sure they have him for years to come," Rapoport said.
On pace for 2,136 rushing yards -- which would snap Eric Dickerson's 30-year-old NFL record -- Murray leads the league in carries (99), rushing yards (534) and rushing touchdowns (5) heading into Sunday's action.
His 5.4 yards per attempt have come behind one of the game's top young offensive lines, but it's not just the blocking: Murray has been a headache to bring down, bouncing through defenders for the NFL's second-highest elusiveness rating, a Pro Football Focus metric that measures a runner's success beyond the point of being helped by his blockers.
Dallas wisely has based its offense around Murray and the ground game during a surprising 3-1 start, running the ball on 50.8 percent of its plays -- up 15 percent from last season. Tony Romo's 118 pass attempts are the fewest of his career after four games.
A horde of young runners will test free agency come March. Murray, barring a shocker, won't be one of them.
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