INDIANAPOLIS - Speaking at the NFL Combine on Wednesday, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett said his running back DeMarco Murray and wide receiver Dez Bryant, both about to become free agents, were irreplacable "cornerstone players" for his team.
Though, as he said, "the business of the NFL is real."
"DeMarco Murray led the NFL in rushing by, I think, by 500 yards and. . . the value of being able to hand the ball 25 times a game week in and week out is significant.
"But there's the business of the NFL, which we all understand and I know both sides are talking. We're trying to get it done. We'd love to have him back."
Garrett scowled when asked about adding another free agent to the Cowboys backfield.
"I don't like that expression 'plug another back in there,'" he said. "He carried the ball 450 times and made 61 catches. That's 511 touches. There's a lot of value attached to a guy you can hand the ball to again and again."
With free agency approaching for both players, there have been rumors that Dez Bryant would receive the franchise tag, something team vice president Stephen Jones, also at the Combine, said this week may be the case for Bryant.
"Right now we're probably leaning that way," Jones said of Bryant, an unrestricted free agent. "But that doesn't mean it won't change."
Bryant said during the regular season that would be "highly disappointed" were he to receive the tag, and this week intimated that he would avoid offseason work, according to ESPN's Ed Werder on Twitter.
Bryant made 88 receptions for 1,320 yards and a franchise-record 16 touchdowns last season.
Murray surpassed Emmitt Smith's franchise-best rushing record, carrying for 1,845 yards this season.
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