Cowboys explain DeMarco Murray's departure

CEREBRAL comedian Steven Wright once observed that you can't have everything.

Where would you keep it?

That's kind of the basis behind why Eagles running back DeMarco Murray is an ex-Dallas Cowboy. There is only so much room under the NFL's $143 million salary limit and the Cowboys just didn't want to make him fit.

"We had a situation where we had a few different guys [whose contracts were up], who hit free agency at the same time," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "In a salary-cap era, unfortunately, you can't keep everybody."

Murray's stance is that this week's contest against Dallas - which drafted him in the third round in 2011 but opted to pay others such as wide receiver Dez Bryant and tackle Doug Free - is just another game. That's a professional viewpoint, but almost impossible to believe given that Murray was the NFL's leading rusher last season by nearly 500 yards and quarterback Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten are among his dearest friends.

Eagles coach Chip Kelly said he isn't worried that Murray will try to do too much in the name of personal vindication.

Murray averaged a league-high 24.5 rushing attempts last season for the Cowboys. In his Eagles debut on Monday against Atlanta, he had just eight.

"We'll monitor him just like we monitor all our players this week," Kelly said, "but I haven't seen any change in him because it's Dallas week and he played for Dallas."

The Cowboys acquired wide receiver Brice Butler from Oakland for a conditional fifth-round pick if Butler plays in six games for Dallas this season. The Cowboys will be without star wide receiver Dez Bryant for possibly eight weeks. Bryant broke a bone in his right foot in Sunday night's win over the Giants.

Butler was a seventh-round pick out of San Diego State in 2013. He started his collegiate career at USC playing alongside former Eagles reserve quarterback Matt Barkley. He was a healthy scratch last week for Oakland.