Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray have both learned that one will be franchised, and the other will have the chance to test the waters in free agency.
Stephen Jones let Dez Bryant’s agent know that the team will be using the franchise tag on Bryant. It was also reported by Mark Lane from CowboysHQ.com that the team was not able to reach a deal with Murray and the team will let him test the open market.
For Bryant, this means he will get a $13 million dollar payday for one year. It also gives the team a chance to continue working on a long term contract, which both sides have said is what they’ve wanted all along.
As far as DeMarco Murray goes, chances are he will not be wearing a star on his helmet next season. This isn’t news if you’ve been following the team since the season ended. Jerry Jones said last month that it would be extremely tough to keep both Dez and DeMarco.
However, there is one glimmer of hope for those fans who want Murray to stay a Cowboy.
An NFL executive was asked what he thought about Murray and free agency. He said Murray is a good player who had a great year. But, he isn’t a great player who had a great year.
Everyone can take that differently, but for me, that’s saying not every team in the league will be lining up at Murray’s door ready to hand him a large contract.
I could be wrong about that, but one thing is for sure, it’s most certainly going to be interesting the next couple of weeks around the ranch.
