The NFL landscape was turned on its head after news broke that the reigning rushing champion DeMarco Murray spurned his former team the Dallas Cowboys to sign with their hated rival Philadelphia Eagles. It is a significant shift in the balance of power in the NFC East and has the division champs scrambling to find answers at the position.

Dallas now calling around for other RBs. Cowboys know they've lost DeMarco Murray to the Eagles. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 12, 2015

Initial thoughts turn to Adrian Peterson. The disgraced and now disgruntled Minnesota Vikings running back seems to want out of his contract with the team, who refuse to cut him. That has led to trade whispers across Twitter with several teams being linked from the Cardinals to Dallas and most recently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Recent rumors indicate the Bucs are pushing hard for him. If they succeed, that would put the Cowboys is a rough position.

Enter the Chicago Bears.

If I'm Dallas and DeMarco Murray signs w/Eagles, I at the very least give Ryan Pace a call about a Matt Forte deal. Lower cost/risk than AP — Blasphemous AF (@TyYoungfelt) March 12, 2015

With Dallas calling around for RBs, would a call be made to the #Bears regarding Forte? — Coach Mike (@Coach_Mike402) March 12, 2015

Get a desperate Jerrah to cave "@ChiCitySports23: #Cowboys calling around for RB's. Wouldn't shock me if they asked #Bears about Forte." — Matt Clapp (@DaBearNecess) March 12, 2015

@BradBiggs Any chance the #Bears consider sending Forte to Dallas if Murray leaves? I'd take a 3d rounder… — Dead Fox Walking (@CanuckBoy670AM) March 12, 2015

If Dallas were looking for a quick fix the brings lower risk and money commitments than Peterson, Matt Forte suddenly makes a ton of sense. The two-time Pro Bowl running back in 29-years old and coming off a season in which he ran for over 1, 000 yards and caught an NFL record 102 passes for 808 yards, scoring a total of 10 touchdowns. It’s not a hard thing to picture him running behind that outstanding Cowboys offensive line and becoming a major outlet for Tony Romo in the passing game.

Rod Marinelli, their defensive coordinator is quite familiari with Forte from his days of coaching in Chicago so there is a connection as well. For the Bears it can be a winning proposition. Not only would they get a draft pick in the deal, but also an additional $8.2 million in salary cap space with which to continue reshaping their roster.

If Ryan Pace and John Fox were searching for a way to gain more flexibility by unloading Forte, it won’t get much better than this.