Philadelphia Eagles Rumors: Ryan Mathews to start again?

Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray has been busy grumbling about his role, and he was demoted to the second-string back in a four-man rotation last week, taking carries behind fellow big-name offseason signing Ryan Mathews.

The Philadelphia Eagles are paying DeMarco Murray $40 million over five years with $21 million in guarantees, while Ryan Mathews was inked to a three-year deal worth $11 million with a more modest $5 million in guaranteed money. Although Mathews, whose Week 14 appearance was his first game back from a multi-week concussion, has a long injury history, he’s looked like the much smarter piece of business from Chip Kelly through both of their first seasons.

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While Murray has been a headcase who averages just 3.5 yards per carry and isn’t even guaranteed to be back in 2016 (if the Eagles can find a suitor), Mathews has a robust 5.3 yards per carry average with one more rushing touchdown despite earning 86 fewer carries thus far.

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Last week, Mathews failed to get anything going as the starter against the Buffalo Bills defense, as he averaged a paltry 2.9 yards per carry. As a matter of fact, it was just the second time he averaged under 3.0 YPC this season, with his previous sub-3.0 performance coming in his last game (Week 10 against the Miami Dolphins).

As Mathews shakes off the rust of a multi-week absence, we can expect the former San Diego Chargers feature back’s numbers to pick up again. ESPN NFL Nation’s Phil Sheridan recently wrote that “all signs” dictate that Mathews will get another start as the leader of the Eagles running back committee for tonight’s game against the Arizona Cardinals, while Murray will remain a member of their rotation. Darren Sproles figures to factor in heavily, of course, and it will be interesting to see if No. 4 back Kenjon Barner gets back into the mix after receiving zero touches in Week 14 for the first time since Week 9.

While Mathews failed to make an impact against the Bills last week, Murray was similarly poor, turning 11 carries (more than what we expected following his demotion, in fact) into just 34 yards.

Nov 8, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray (29) runs the ball in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Philadelphia won in overtime 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

We’ll see just how the carries are divvied up between Mathews and Murray, but what we do know is that the Eagles absolutely must get production out of their running game tonight. While the Eagles are built behind a strong defense that features an elite front seven, they will be going up against one of the best offenses in the NFL. Carson Palmer has eight straight games with at least 250 passing yards, Michael Floyd is dealing, and John Brown and Larry Fitzgerald are monsters.

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In order to win this game, the Eagles have to run the ball well, and Mathews will be a huge key to that. Even though it’s been a while since the former first-round pick out of Fresno State has been a factor, his average of over 5.0 yards per carry is no fluke. Getting production out of Murray and Sproles would also be welcome, but the Eagles are wise to nudge their bets towards Mathews, who was once a centerpiece player in an excellent ball-control offense for the Chargers in the 2013 season.

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