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Dallas Cowboys running back Joseph Randle made a dig at former teammate DeMarco Murray on Wednesday, saying Murray "left a lot of meat on the bone" despite rushing for an NFL-leading 1,845 yards in 2014. Murray, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in the offseason, heard about the comments and responded Thursday, but he didn't rise to the jab. Instead, Murray said that he hopes Randle "can taste some of that meat this year," according to John Gonzalez of CSN Philly.
As Murray's backup last season, Randle put up 343 yards and three touchdowns in 16 games. Despite what he was able to accomplish, Murray clearly isn't letting the comments get to him. Murray went on to say that he hoped Randle had a "chance to run behind that line and do some good things."
Dallas' running back position should look a lot different this coming season. Randle is the favorite to win the starting job with Murray out of the picture, and though his yardage total was low last season, he did have a stellar 6.7 yards per carry average over his 51 attempts. Randle's chief competition is Darren McFadden, who spent his first seven years in the league with the Oakland Raiders and at one point was viewed as one of the NFL's most exciting running backs.
McFadden has slowed down considerably, however, and this is more of a "show us what you can do" signing for the Cowboys. Still, he's taken a share of the starting reps in the early going of organized team activities. For now, Randle and McFadden are splitting reps, but a proper competition should surface when training camp rolls around.
Randle had a few run-ins with the law in the past year, including an arrest for shoplifting cologne and underwear, as well as a marijuana possession charge that was later dropped. However, Randle said he is ready to move on from his mistakes and prove himself:
"Everything you go through in life you learn from it," he said. "I learned from it and moved past it. I’ve grown up. I made some young and silly mistakes but I’m moving forward."
For Murray, he's set to be the primary ball carrier for a revamped Philadelphia squad. Given that the Eagles also signed Ryan Mathews shortly after making a push for Frank Gore, and brought in Darren Sproles as well, there should be plenty of carries to go around in Chip Kelly's offense.