Cowboys Face Difficult 'Challenge' in Retaining Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray

The Dallas Cowboys are coming off one of their most successful seasons in years. The team won 12 regular-season games and captured its first division title and postseason victory since 2009.

Yes, the season didn't end as fans would have hoped, but, given the playoff drought, it was a good year nonetheless.

However, as the Cowboys attempt to retool to make another run at the fourth Super Bowl title that has eluded Jerry Jones since the halcyon days of the 1990s, the team faces more than a little uncertainty because two of the players who helped carry the Cowboys to the playoffs are free agents—and odds are the team will only be able to bring one back.

While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Jones admitted that bringing back both running back DeMarco Murray and wide receiver Dez Bryant isn't going to be easy:

Jones elaborated on that statement, according to ESPN.com's Jean-Jacques Taylor:

"

It's going to be a challenge. Is it financially reasonable? No. Is it possible? Yes. But if you just looked at it from dollars and cents, it probably doesn't look reasonable. You have to figure out how you get there, but at the end of the day you realize it's going to be costly to have both of those players.

"

That's putting it mildly. After outstanding seasons, both players are in a position to command lucrative extensions. And as salary-cap space goes, the Cowboys aren't in a position to exactly go nuts in that regard.

According to Over the Cap, the Cowboys presently have approximately $13 million in cap space for 2015. That's the lowest amount in the NFC East, and the Cowboys also have to consider other free agents and this year's incoming draftees.

Now, we don't definitively know what the exact cap figure will be for 2015 yet, so there might be a little more wiggle room. But, years of playing a "shell game" of sorts to overcome some bad contracts have consequences.

And those consequences have come home to roost.

Granted, if Jones is to be believed, Dez Bryant won't be going anywhere but the bank.

Rec.	Yards	Avg.	TD
88	1,320	15.0	16

After a 2014 campaign that saw Bryant lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns and finish eighth in yardage, he is in line for a deal that will likely pay him in excess of $10 million a season. Jones made it clear to Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News back in November that the team has every intention of writing that check:

"

What we want to do is have an agreement for the rest of Dez’s career. To me, that says a lot about the concern about off-the-field [issues] if we want him on the Dallas Cowboys for the rest of his career.

I’m real impressed with how he’s evolved over the last several years, or we wouldn’t be in serious contract negotiations with him. So I think all of that is where it really is, and I do look for us to get something done with Dez.

"

That's all well and good, and I'm not about to sit here and say Bryant isn't worth that money. But, that doesn't solve the problem that then arises with Murray.

Att.	Yards	Avg.	TD	Rec.	Yards	TD
392	1,845	4.7	13	57	416	0

All Murray did in 2014 was to lead the NFL in carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. It's no stretch to say that without the 26-year-old, the Cowboys' postseason drought would have extended another year.

And head coach Jason Garrett would be looking for work rather than counting the coin from the five-year extension he just received.

According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via colleague Chris Wesseling), the team recently offered Murray a contract that would pay him $16 million over four seasons.

That's not close to what it's likely going to take to get a deal with Murray done (Wesseling went so far as to call the offer "insulting"), and if the Cowboys aren't willing to pay him, some other team is going to.

And that's where the silver lining for the Cowboys comes in.

Because, you see, the Cowboys might actually be better off not signing Murray.

Between catches and carries, Murray touched the ball nearly 450 times in 2014. That's a staggering number for a running back and one that doesn't bode well for Murray's future even a little bit.

If you play fantasy football, then you may have heard of the "Curse of 370." In a nutshell, over the history of the NFL, the overwhelming majority of NFL running backs who carried the ball more than 370 times in a single season saw their production fall off substantially the following year. Over 70 percent missed time the next season.

Those are sobering numbers, especially for a back with Murray's injury history.

Did Murray have a phenomenal season, one that was absolutely critical to the Cowboys' success in 2014? Yes.

Is it possible Murray could buck this historical trend, as LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers did in 2003? Yes.

Are the odds heavily stacked against that happening? Yes.

Never mind that there may not be an easier position in the NFL to replace right now than running back. Look at the Baltimore Ravens in 2014, who lost Ray Rice only to see Justin Forsett explode for over 1,500 total yards.

As good as Murray was in 2014, it doesn't necessarily take him or Tony Dorsett to get it done on the ground behind the Cowboys' stellar offensive line.

That may seem harsh or even disloyal, but the fact is the NFL is a harsh business.

And in reality, the biggest "challenge" facing the Cowboys may be knowing when to say goodbye.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.