DeMarco Murray: ‘I Just Do What I’m Told’

DeMarco Murray did not have much of an answer for why he did not participate in team drills Sunday.

There is no injury, he said, and he was hoping to do more on the opening day of training camp, but the coaching staff decided to hold him back.

“Yeah, you’re always upset when you don’t get the chance to go out there and compete and really take a little pressure off the other guys,” he said. “Obviously as a competitor I wanted to be out there but it just didn’t happen.”

Did he ask for an explanation?

“No,” he said. “I just do what I’m told.”

Murray was given the green light on Monday and participated fully.

While it seems a bit odd to hold a healthy player back on Day One, it would be no surprise if the Eagles managed his reps this summer. The former Cowboy ran the ball 392 times last season — 80 more than the next closest back, LeSean McCoy. History has not been particularly kind to running backs coming off 300-plus carry seasons. The Eagles will want to make sure that the gas tank is on full for the regular season.

“That’s out of my control. It’s not up to me. I don’t know when I will go or when I will get more or less reps. That’s up to Duce [Staley] and Chip [Kelly],” he said.

“You always want to be out there as much as you can and try to compete at a high level, but you’ve gotta be smart, too. It’s training camp, you’ve got a long season ahead of you and you’ve just gotta not taper it down but really have to get good work in instead of just crazy work.”

Ryans not all the way back

DeMeco Ryans acknowledged that he is not quite back to pre-injury form just yet.

“Still got a little ways to go,” he said following Monday’s practice. “This is the first time I did 11-on-11 football since November, so just continue to see those plays, get those reps over and over again, get back familiar with it.”

It’s been nine months since Ryans ruptured his Achilles in Houston. The rehab has gone smoother compared to when he suffered the same injury back in 2010, he said. The NFL had the lockout that offseason and he didn’t have access to the team trainers. It’s been a different experience this time around working with the Eagles’ medical staff. He has bounced back fairly quickly, and was able to take part in much of the on-field work this spring to the surprise of some. He’s been a full participant at training camp thus far, but still has a little ways to go before he’s back to full form.

“A little bit of strength, a little bit of explosiveness [I need to build back up in the leg],” he said. “Once I build that, I’ll be ready.”