NFL Free Agency: 30 worst free agency signings this century
By Randy Gurzi
. RB. Philadelphia Eagles. DeMarco Murray. 3. player. 54
3. Worst NFL free agency signings this century: DeMarco Murray
Picking on the Philadelphia Eagles isn’t the point here, but the fact is they made some rough calls in free agency over the past couple of decades. Perhaps none were worse than the one in 2015 when they signed running back DeMarco Murray away from the divisional rival Dallas Cowboys.
On the surface, this seemed like a good move, as Murray was coming off his best season ever. The former Oklahoma Sooner had just run for 1,845 yards, which led the NFL. He also helped Dallas win the NFC East that season, despite the Eagles being all the rage with head coach Chip Kelly running the show.
Murray joined Kelly and the Eagles, as they offered him much more money than Dallas did. While the five-year, $40 million deal was great, his fit in Kelly’s system was not.
An offense based on deception that excelled with a shifty runner like LeSean McCoy looked out-of-place with the power running Murray. Of course, Murray wasn’t helped at all by Kelly, who seemed hell-bent on proving no one understood his offense.
Traditionally using a mobile quarterback, Kelly bucked that trend with Sam Bradford and his two bad knees. He was doing the same with Murray, as he was out to prove anyone would work, as long as he was calling the plays.
It was devastating to Murray’s numbers, as he managed just 702 yards on the season and averaged just 3.6 yards per attempt. This was a career-low for him. Murray did redeem himself, as he had a great season in 2016, However, that came with the Tennessee Titans, who traded for Murray after the Eagles fired Chip Kelly as their head coach.