DeMarco Murray has been the Dallas Cowboys' workhorse this season, leading the NFL with 99 carries -- a whopping 18 more than the next closest running back.
He is on pace for 396 carries, but given his injury history (Murray has never played more than 14 games in one season), owner Jerry Jones acknowledged the Cowboys must get backup running backs Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle more involved.
"If we can, it would be good to have Dunbar with a few more touches," Jones said Friday on KRLD-FM, per The Dallas Morning News. "But make no mistake about it, Joseph Randle can be effective out there, too. We probably should have at least Randle get a few more snaps. I think he got seven the other day, and you probably could push that up if you're going to have that many run plays, you probably could double that and be pretty smart about how you're exposing Murray."
Cowboys great Emmitt Smith never carried the ball more than 377 times in a season (1995).
Murray ranks first in carries, first in rushing yards (534) first in touchdowns (five) and sixth in yards per rush (5.93), so it's easy to understand continually feeding him the ball behind that churning offensive line.
Dunbar has 11 carries, and Randle, nine, through four games. Expect those numbers to increase, but not overwhelmingly -- at least until Murray's first injury of the season occurs.
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