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Cowboys' Tony Romo says he would have taken pay cut to keep DeMarco Murray

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo won't have the league's leading rusher in his backfield next year, but if he could, he would take less money to get DeMarco Murray back with the team.

"DeMarco ended up asking me, 'Why don't you take a pay cut?'" Romo said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday. "I was like, 'I will. I will take a pay cut to go do this.' I was like, 'They're going to restructure me and the whole thing,' that's the same thing in some ways just for salary-cap purposes. He was like, 'OK, now we're back to being friends.' 'You're really worried about me? I would take $5 million less if it meant getting you back.' He knew that."

The Cowboys never approached Romo about taking a pay cut and it was clear that the team was not that interested in re-signing Murray. With the best line in football it's assumed that almost anyone will succeed at running back in Dallas.

Darren McFadden will get that chance, as the Arkansas product signed for two years and $3 million with the Cowboys. If he and whoever else they bring in can approach Murray's production, the team will be happy.

Murray got $42 million over five years from the Philadelphia Eagles and has the opportunity to stick it to the Cowboys twice a year for the near future.

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