Tennessee Titans: DeMarco Murray Will Help Marcus Mariota
The Tennessee Titans have reportedly agreed on a trade to acquire running back DeMarco Murray from the Philadelphia Eagles. The value of Murray to Tennessee can be questioned, but he will undoubtedly help the growth of Marcus Mariota.
The new league year is set to begin on Wednesday, but we are already seeing a flurry of reported moves.
The Philadelphia Eagles were the ones to make the most noise on Monday, with two large and exciting trades. First, according to multiple reports (and via James Walker of ESPN), the Eagles agreed to send CB Byron Maxwell and LB Kiko Alonso to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for draft choices.
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Later in the day, the news broke of a trade between the Eagles and Tennessee Titans. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the two sides have agreed to send DeMarco Murray to Tennessee, and it is expected to be made official when the league calendar begins on Wednesday.
It will be interesting to see what the draft pick compensation will be for the Eagles in the two trades, but without knowing what they will receive, it appears that the organization is simply selling off expensive contracts remaining from the Chip Kelly era. It will be interesting to see what the Eagles do going forward, because a full stage rebuild seems imminent at this point.
The deal with the Titans is certainly interesting for both sides, but it stands out as an aggressive move forward for the Titans. A lot will depend on what they gave up in exchange for Murray, but I have a hard time believing the Titans received proper value in this trade.
Murray is a talented back, but at 28 years old, it’s not like he is young for the position. The Titans will now be on the hook for the remaining $31 million on his contract for the next four seasons. David Cobb showed some upside on their roster last season, and Antonio Andrews looked to be a nice stop-gap solution at best.
If the Titans gave up essentially nothing for Murray, I do not hate the deal value-wise, but if they gave up any real compensation in exchange for him, I have a hard time advocating for that on paper. Adding Murray certainly helps the Titans for next season, but they had options on the roster, in free agency and in the draft that could have helped them as well.
There is one thing about this deal that shines some light on it for Tennessee. Murray’s physical style of running is proven at the NFL level and he is immediately going to come in and be the most consistent option in their offense. More than anything else, Murray’s ability to handle a full load in the running game will help the growth of quarterback Marcus Mariota.
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Mariota had a strong rookie season, and looks like a legitimate franchise quarterback for the Titans going forward. Tennessee has a lot of work to do to their roster around Mariota, but putting him in position to succeed is undoubtedly the most important part of their organization right now.
Whether you are a big believer in Murray or not, there is no denying that the threat of him in the backfield helps Mariota. Murray will primarily be the focus of opposing defenses against the Titans next season, and Mariota should be able to capitalize. It will be very interesting to see how this works out for the Titans’ offense.
On paper, unless the Titans basically gave up nothing for Murray, I am not a huge fan of the deal. I just feel like there were many options out there who the Titans could have targeted to fill out their rushing attack. That being said, based on pure talent, Murray is among the best that would have been available, and he has proven his ability to be elite in the NFL.
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Having such a strong running back to count on behind him will make Mariota a better NFL quarterback, and when it comes to the Titans’ future, nothing is more important than that.