IRVING, Texas -- How much did Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones think of DeMarco Murray?
The Cowboys released a 247-word statement about Murray, the team's decision to not pony up the money and what is ahead for the Cowboys. Last year, the Cowboys released a 125-word statement on the release of DeMarcus Ware.
Here is Jones' full statement:
"We are very grateful to DeMarco Murray for his contributions to the Dallas Cowboys. He is a quality person, a very good football player, and a player that we wanted to keep.
We have great appreciation for his skills, and if there was no salary cap in place, DeMarco would be a Cowboy. This came down to an allocation of dollars within the management of the salary cap.
Obviously there is emotion involved in these decisions, 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.
We have recently made significant commitments to top players who are currently on the team, specifically at key positions such as quarterback, left tackle and wide receiver, and we were comfortable with the offer that we made to DeMarco to include him in that structure.
These are difficult decisions that are part of the NFL. They are decisions that take into account the entire team, the current economic structure of the team, and the financial concerns for the short and long term future of the team.
At the end of the day, this is about finding the best way to collectively fit all of the individual pieces together, in terms of talent, offensive players, defensive players and dollars—under the salary cap structure—that gives you the best chance to have a championship team."
Tony Romo carries a $27.773 million salary-cap figure. Dez Bryant carries a $12.823 million cap figure on the franchise tag. Tyron Smith had his contract restructured and carries a salary-cap figure of $5.039 million.
The Cowboys could have fit Murray into the cap this year, even on the deal the Philadelphia Eagles paid him. The Cowboys did not want to commit the guaranteed money to Murray that Philadelphia committed to him.
But it would have tilted the money to the offensive side of the ball even more.
According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Cowboys have allotted $76.16 million to the offensive side of the ball in 2015 and just $48.46 million to the defense.