Eagles agree to sign NFL’s leading rusher DeMarco Murray

There has been more running back drama in Philadelphia this week than at any other time in the history of the Eagles.

Starting with last week’s shocking trade of Eagles all-time leading rusher LeSean McCoy, the whirlwind saw the Birds agree to terms with Frank Gore (who spurned Philly for Indianapolis), agree to terms with Ryan Matthews, and then go toe-to-toe with division rival Dallas for the services of 2014 rushing champion DeMarco Murray.

Well, it looks like the Eagles won the battle, as Murray touched down in Philadelphia Thursday afternoon with the intent to ink a five-year,$42 million deal with $21 million guaranteed. The guaranteed money is $5.5 million less than McCoy got in Buffalo.

So how did this all transpire? Well ESPN’s Adam Schefter (who reported the terms of the contract) has been reporting since Tuesday that there was high mutual interest between Murray and Philadelphia.

It also just so happened that the Eagles traded for Murray’s former college roommate at Oklahoma, Sam Bradford.

Whether Bradford helped recruit the Cowboys superstar is unknown, but it certainly didn’t hurt.

Murray offers some attributes that McCoy lacked — such as an ability to attack inside holes and run downhill. McCoy was much more of a run to daylight kind of back, routinely sprinting east and west toward the sidelines.

Murray had a monster season in Big D last year, compiling a ridiculous2,261 total yards. He averages4.8 yards per carry for his career. In his breakthrough 2014 he ran the ball 392 times for1,845 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.

The Eagles now have considerable depth at running back, with Matthews who officially signed a three-year deal, Darren Sproles and Chris Polk. Polk is a restricted free agent, and may become a victim of numbers in the Eagles deep backfield.