We can't believe we're about to say this, but the Cowboys did exactly the right thing by letting DeMarco Murray go to the Eagles, where he signed a five-year, $42 million deal (with $21 million guaranteed) on Thursday, and instead settling on Darren McFadden, who they inked to a two-year deal, worth up to a reported $5.85 million.

Whether Jerry Jones has evolved as a general manager (seems unlikely given that he was this close to drafting Johnny Manziel last year) or the praise should be reserved for Stephen Jones (an eminently more likely scenario), the bottom line remains: The Cowboys were smart to save their money.

For starters, running back is the most fungible position in football. Teams can find comparable production for much less than what the Eagles paid for Murray, or the Bills are now paying for LeSean McCoy. Also: Murray is 27, was overworked a season ago, and has an injury history. (Yes, we know, the same can be said of McFadden, except that he just didn't sign a $42 million deal.)

Which brings us to this sobering table, courtesy of CBSSports.com's Will Brinson:

390 Carries Or More
Player Year Carries Games Next Year Rush Yards Next Year
DeMarco Murray  2014  392  ???  ???
Larry Johnson  2006  416  7  559
Ricky Williams  2003  392  0 (retired)  0 (retired)
Eddie George  2000  403  16  939
Jamal Anderson  1998  410  2  59
Terrell Davis  1998  392  4  211
Barry Foster  1992  390  9  711
Eric Dickerson  1986  404  12  1288
Gerald Riggs  1985  397  16  1327
James Wilder  1984  407  16  1300
Eric Dickerson  1983  390  16  2105

Good luck with that, Philly.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys get McFadden, a chronic underachiever during his seven years in Oakland. Some of that is a function of playing for some terrible teams, but some of that is on McFadden, who has averaged 3.3 yards per carry the last three seasons, and surpassed 1,000 rushing yards just once since coming into the league in 2008.

The good news is that in Dallas, McFadden will play behind the league's best offensive line (the Raiders' line ranked 28th last year), according to Football Outsiders. He also won't be expected to carry this offense; that burden falls to Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Jason Witten and the aforementioned offensive line.

Can Darren McFadden finally live up to expectations? (Getty Images)
Can Darren McFadden finally live up to expectations now that he's in Dallas? (Getty Images)

Instead, McFadden will join Joseph Randle, Lance Dunbar, Ryan Williams -- and anyone else the Cowboys sign or draft -- for a backs-by-committee approach to running the ball. The strategy not only shares the workload, but lessens like likelihood McFadden gets hurt, a reality that has plagued him throughout his career (only once has he played in all 16 games in a season).

But as CBSSports.com's Jared Dubin wrote on Thursday, shortly after Murray-to-Philly was official, the Cowboys' running game will be fine.

What it comes down to here is that the Cowboys still have options. Losing Murray is a problem, but it's not one that doesn't have readily available solutions. Armed with possibly the best offensive line in the league (from which they're returning all five starters, three of whom -- Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin -- were named First or Second-Team All-Pro), the Cowboys can afford to go in almost any direction they want with the running back situation.

In truth, this is less about McFadden and more about how the Cowboys replace Murray's production with the group of backs they take into training camp. So while losing Murray saddens Romo -- "Obviously, it’s not an ideal situation ... that’s disappointing," the quarterback admitted on Thursday -- the Cowboys' offense should be just as explosive in 2015.