2015-2016 DALLAS COWBOYS: Racing the clock with that heavy rock–The Murray age factor | Running Back options without DeMarco | Young bucks on the NFL Draft board | Free Agent RBs on the market

When Tony Romo sees DeMarco Murray, he sees an NFL rushing champion.

When Jason Garrett sees Murray, he sees an NFL rushing champion.

When agent Pat Dye sees Murray, he sees an NFL rushing champion.

When the Cowboys’ fan base sees Murray, it sees an NFL rushing champion.

But when Stephen Jones sees Murray, he sees a 27-year-old running back.

That’s because as guardian of the Dallas Cowboys salary cap, in the best interest of the franchise, Jones must focus on a player’s future, not his past. What’s his value going forward?

Murray was the league’s best running back in 2014, winning his first NFL rushing crown by almost 500 yards. A commitment to the run — and thus a commitment to Murray — propelled the Cowboys from a decade of mediocrity into Super Bowl contention.

His breakout could not have come at a better time for Murray — the final season of his rookie contract. Now he’s in a position to cash in. He can become a free agent this month.

As a third-round draft choice, Murray did not receive the big money at the front end of his career. So this will be the one time in life Murray can command top dollar for his football services. He’s looking for a long-term deal that would guarantee his security. Think five years.

That would take Murray through the 2019 season. He’ll be 31 then. And that’s the concern Jones has.

The Cowboys could have placed a franchise tag on the 2014 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. That would have locked Murray up for the 2015 season at a premium price — $10.9 million. But they opted to franchise Dez Bryant instead.

The Cowboys would have jumped at the chance to sign Murray to a two-year contract. Even a three-year deal might be welcome. But a five-year deal? Running backs rarely get better as they get older.

The Cowboys would likely love the first year of the deal and may come to enjoy the second year, possibly even the third. But those fourth and fifth years could be regrettable.

That’s how the Cowboys got into this salary-cap mess in the first place. For years they gave big money to players heading into their 30s hoping they could stay great forever. Instead, they descended and became salary-cap hits — big salary-cap hits — waiting to happen.

Think DeMarcus Ware.

And there is less future in paying runners than pass rushers.

Jim Brown, Jim Taylor, O.J. Simpson, Floyd Little, Charles White, Eric Dickerson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Edgerrin James and Jamal Lewis are all former NFL rushing champions. Brown, Taylor, Simpson, Little, Dickerson and Jerome Bettis all are Hall of Famers, and there may be busts in Canton waiting for Tomlinson and James as well.

Every one of those backs rushed for 1,000 yards at the age of 29 — and none ever got back to that threshold in the remaining years of their careers.

And you can add Pro Bowlers Roger Craig, Stephen Davis, Michael Turner and Steven Jackson to the group that rushed for 1,000 at 29 but never again.

The wall for an NFL running back has historically been 29 years of age. And some of the great ones don’t even get there.

Marshall Faulk was the most complete and arguably the best running back in the NFL at the turn of the 2000 decade. He was a key element in the Greatest Show on Turf that took the St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls. He was rewarded for his career with a bust in Canton. Faulk rushed for 1,382 yards in 2001 at age 28. He never got back to 1,000 in any of the final four seasons of his career.

Like Murray, Larry Johnson was a battering ram back for the Kansas City Chiefs during the middle of the 2000 decade. He won an AFC rushing title with 1,750 yards at age 26 in 2005, then followed with a 1,786-yard season in 2006. He played five more seasons and never got back to 1,000 in any of them.

Clinton Portis was a two-time Pro Bowler who rushed for 1,487 yards for the Washington Redskins in 2008 at age 27. Like Johnson, he never got back to 1,000 again and was done by the time he reached 30.

Some backs burst through the wall. Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Tony Dorsett and Thurman Thomas all rushed for 1,000-yard seasons in their early 30s. All are Hall of Famers.

When you see Murray, do you see Emmitt Smith, whose greatness ended at age 32? Do you see LaDainian Tomlinson, whose greatness ended at 29? Or Marshall Faulk, whose greatness ended at 28? Or Clinton Portis, whose greatness ended at 27?

In the short term, the Cowboys want and need Murray. But there could be long-term financial ramifications for that short-term benefit. And that’s what Jones has been mulling since the end of the season.

Fiscal responsibility is a heavy burden to bear for a franchise. Jones must weigh past performance of DeMarco Murray against future projections.

RUNNING BACK OPTIONS: RBs on the roster and on the market and on the clock

On the payroll – Running backs currently on the roster:

Randle, Joseph	RB	6-0	210	23	Oklahoma State
Dunbar, Lance	RB	5-8	195	25	North Texas
Murray, DeMarco	RB	6-0	217	27	Oklahoma

On the Dallas Cowboys practice squad:

Williams, Ryan

5-9

207

Virginia Tech

Top running back prospects eligible for 2015 NFL Draft:

RANK	PLAYER	RB RANK	SCHOOL	CLASS	HT.	WT.	PROJ
20	*Todd Gurley	1	Georgia	Jr	6-1	222	1
23	*Melvin Gordon	2	Wisconsin	rJr	6-1	215	1
46	Ameer Abdullah	3	Nebraska	Sr	5-9	205	2
51	*Jay Ajayi	4	Boise State	rJr	6-0	221	2
56	*Duke Johnson	5	Miami (Fla.)	Jr	5-9	207	2
61	*Tevin Coleman	6	Indiana	Jr	5-11	206	2
66	David Johnson	7	Northern Iowa	rSr	6-1	224	2-3
79	Jeremy Langford	8	Michigan State	rSr	6-0	208	2-3
85	*T.J. Yeldon	9	Alabama	Jr	6-1	226	3
89	David Cobb	10	Minnesota	Sr	5-11	229	3
102	*Mike Davis	11	South Carolina	Jr	5-9	217	3-4
119	*Javorius Allen	12	Southern California	rJr	6-0	221	3-4
129	Cameron Artis-Payne	13	Auburn	Sr	5-10	212	4
144	Terrance Magee	14	LSU	Sr	5-8	213	4-5
167	Karlos Williams	15	Florida State	Sr	6-1	230	5
175	Dominique Brown	16	Louisville	rSr	6-2	234	5
180	Malcolm Brown	17	Texas	Sr	5-11	224	5-6
185	*Matt Jones	18	Florida	Jr	6-2	231	5-6
204	Malcolm Agnew	19	Southern Illinois	Sr	5-9	205	6
220	*Josh Robinson	20	Mississippi State	rJr	5-8	217	6-7
239	*Trey Williams	21	Texas A&M	Jr	5-7	195	7
271	Michael Dyer	22	Louisville	rSr	5-8	218	7-FA
279	John Crockett	23	North Dakota State	rSr	6-0	217	7-FA
298	Marcus Murphy	24	Missouri	rSr	5-8	193	7-FA
310	Thomas Rawls	25	Central Michigan	Sr	5-9	215	7-FA
324	*Dee Hart	26	Colorado State	rJr	5-7	199	7-FA
337	Kenny Hilliard	27	LSU	Sr	6-0	226	7-FA

Free Agent running backs looking for a contract:

PLAYER (46)	POS.	AGE	FROM	TO	2014 CAP HIT	STATUS
Frank Gore	RB	31	SF	TBD	$6,450,000	UFA
C.J. Spiller	RB	27	BUF	TBD	$5,916,666	UFA
Steven Jackson	RB	31	ATL	TBD	$4,166,666	UFA
Ryan Mathews	RB	27	SD	TBD	$3,612,000	UFA
Knowshon Moreno	RB	27	MIA	TBD	$3,000,000	UFA
Reggie Bush	RB	29	DET	TBD	$2,944,444	UFA
Chris Johnson	RB	29	NYJ	TBD	$2,750,000	UFA
Mark Ingram	RB	25	NO	TBD	$2,359,875	UFA
David Wilson	RB	23	NYG	TBD	$1,823,046	UFA
Darren McFadden	RB	27	OAK	TBD	$1,718,000	UFA
DeMarco Murray	RB	27	DAL	TBD	$1,596,625	UFA
Roy Helu	RB	26	WAS	TBD	$1,548,563	UFA
Bilal Powell	RB	26	NYJ	TBD	$1,531,125	UFA
Jacquizz Rodgers	RB	25	ATL	TBD	$1,478,750	UFA
Shane Vereen	RB	25	NE	TBD	$1,101,275	UFA
Cedric Peerman	RB	28	CIN	TBD	$1,050,000	UFA
Stevan Ridley	RB	26	NE	TBD	$939,750	UFA
Peyton Hillis	RB	29	NYG	TBD	$855,000	UFA
Antone Smith	RB	29	ATL	TBD	$762,500	UFA
DuJuan Harris	RB	26	GB	TBD	$645,000	UFA
Leon Washington	RB	32	TEN	TBD	$635,000	UFA
Jonathan Dwyer	RB	25	ARI	TBD	$635,000	UFA
Justin Forsett	RB	29	BAL	TBD	$570,000	UFA
Daniel Thomas	RB	27	MIA	TBD	$569,118	UFA
Ahmad Bradshaw	RB	28	IND	TBD	$486,353	UFA
Joe McKnight	RB	26	KC	TBD	$437,000	UFA
Ronnie Brown	RB	33	SD	TBD	$402,353	UFA
Alfonso Smith	RB	28	SF	TBD	$265,588	UFA
LaMichael James	RB	25	MIA	TBD	$234,706	UFA
Chris Ogbonnaya	RB	28	NYG	TBD	$134,118	UFA
Shaun Draughn	RB	27	CLE	TBD	$134,117	UFA
Phillip Tanner	RB	26	SF	TBD	$75,882	UFA
Ben Tate	RB	26	PIT	TBD	–	UFA
Jordan Todman	RB	25	JAC	TBD	$645,000	RFA
Chris Polk	RB	25	PHI	TBD	$573,334	RFA
Travaris Cadet	RB	26	NO	TBD	$571,667	RFA
Bobby Rainey	RB	27	TB	TBD	$570,000	RFA
Dan Herron	RB	25	IND	TBD	$570,000	RFA
Lance Dunbar	RB	25	DAL	TBD	$570,000	RFA
Matt Asiata	RB	27	MIN	TBD	$570,000	RFA
Kory Sheets	RB	29	OAK	TBD	$525,000	RFA
Marcus Thigpen	RB	28	BUF	TBD	$167,647	RFA
Fozzy Whittaker	RB	26	CAR	TBD	$495,000	ERFA
Chase Reynolds	RB	27	STL	TBD	$495,000	ERFA
Chris Thompson	RB	24	WAS	TBD	$87,353	ERFA
Fitz Toussaint	RB	24	BAL	TBD	$74,117	ERFA