On the surface, the swap of DeMarco Murray for Darren McFadden looks like a clear downgrade for the Dallas Cowboys.
Murray is a nimble power-runner that paced the NFL in yards and carries last season and helped the Cowboys reach the postseason for the first time since 2009. McFadden is a failed first-round draft pick that struggled with injuries and never came close to becoming the player the Oakland Raiders thought he would be when they selected him in the first-round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Perhaps, the decision to part ways with Murray carries deeper and more significant meaning for the Cowboys, though.
"Yes, the words "model franchise" and "Dallas Cowboys" haven't gone together without sarcasm since the glory days of Jimmy Johnson in the early 1990s," writes Alex Marvez of FOX Sports. "Most of the past 20 seasons were marred by poor decision-making and flawed football philosophy by the Jerry Jones-led front office.
"The handling of the Murray situation further indicates that those days are gone."
As Marvez argues, past decision-making indicates the likely operating procedure with regards to Murray would likely have involved attempting to match or exceed the five-year, $42 million contract handed to last season's NFL leading rusher by the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
Instead, the Cowboys stood firm with their offer and let the market dictate Murray's decision, choosing to watch him walk away and signing McFadden to a modest two-year deal worth a maximum of $5.85 million instead.
"Obviously, there is emotion involved in these decisions," Jones said in a team-released statement after it was announced Murray had signed with Chip Kelly and the Eagles.. "But it is critical that there be must be discipline involved as well. If it were a question of having an open checkbook with no salary-cap constraints, we all know things would have worked out differently."
The decision by Jones, son Stephen and head coach Jason Garrett not to break the bank for Murray signals a change for the better in Dallas.
"Even after the Eagles surprisingly swooped in, Dallas held steady because of the impact that boosting its offer would have on the franchise's salary cap and other desired roster moves -- not just for 2015, but beyond. The league's most consistently successful squads stick to their guns and employ that same thought process," writes Marvez.
From the decision to invest recent first-round draft picks into strengthening the offensive line - Travis Frederick, Zach Martin, Tyron Smith - while simultaneously avoiding players like quarterback Johnny Manziel to resisting the urge to pay a non-integral player like Murray to making certain an indispensable talent like wide receiver Dez Bryant doesn't end up elsewhere, it seems like Jones and the Cowboys may have finally turned the page on their over-the-top spending ways and failed decision-making of the not-too-distant past.
