Jones: Best Chance to Improve Was Without Murray

DeMarco Murray took the Cowboys to a new level in 2014, establishing an identity as a run-first team that will punish opponents' defenses and will their way to wins. Along the way, Murray set a new single-season franchise mark for rushing yards in a season — saying a lot with a guy named Emmitt Smith and another named Tony Dorsett having toted the rock in Dallas.

And just like that, Murray was gone. And not only gone, but gone to a hated division rival who is the biggest threat to unseating the Cowboys from their throne as NFC East champions.

But no worries, Cowboys fans. Owner and GM Jerry Jones said on Tuesday that the best way for the Cowboys to get better this offseason was to let Murray walk.

“He’s an outstanding football player,’’ Jones told reporters from the NFL Annual Meetings. “Under the right circumstances it would have been good for everybody for him to be here.

“On the other hand, our best chance of getting better was to make the decision we made.’’

While it might seem crazy, it's actually a pretty good point.

The Cowboys have a great, young offensive line that is widely regarded as the best offensive line in the NFL. They have a top two or three wide receiver and a quarterback that, while fragile, is coming off an MVP-caliber season. With hopes of upgrading a mediocre defense, the best chance was to not spend money on Murray. It's a great point, now Jones just needs to make the right moves to execute the plan.

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“Certainly, our players and everybody in our organization understands the concept that you can’t have everything," Jones said. "You can’t have it all. It’s just impossible.’’

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