Byron Murphy Ranked Top-Five Free Agent CB
We're nearing the buzzer at the NFL's deadline to franchise tag players, and it appears the Arizona Cardinals will allow cornerback Byron Murphy to test the open market.
Murphy (25-years-old) was the team's second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft after playing his college ball at Washington. Prior to that, he was a homegrown talent that played at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, AZ.
Murphy is a versatile defender that is capable of playing in either a boundary role or in the slot, making him schematically open to just about any defense that will have him.
CBS Sports recently released their list of free agent cornerbacks, and Murphy found himself at No. 4 behind James Bradberry, Jamel Dean and Cameron Sutton.
Byron Murphy Ranked Top-Five Free Agent CB
"Murphy did himself a bit of a favor in 2022 by showing that he can play on the outside, adding some versatility to his game that had previously been headlined for his ability in the slot," said Tyler Sullivan.
"However, the former second-round pick in 2019 had had an up-and-down career, including during the 2022 campaign. He missed eight games with a back injury and allowed opposing quarterbacks to have a 103.1 passer rating against him. That said, young corners are hard to come by on the open market and Murphy was able to play and start in 16 games in 2021 where he held QBs to an 87.6 passer rating. If teams are getting the 2021 version of Murphy, he should be a sought-after free agent."
Murphy is just one of 30 free agents scheduled to depart Arizona. Another potential franchise tag option for Arizona would be DE Zach Allen, though it appears he may not be tagged, either.
"Zach [Allen] and Byron [Murphy] are both good players. We'd love to keep them. There's obviously going to be a financial component, a business component that comes into that," Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said last week.
"Those discussions will continue to take place over the next couple of weeks as we approach the start of the league year. We'd love to keep everybody, we'd love to pay everybody. Unfortunately the way the league's set up that's not always possible, but those discussions certainly are going to continue to take place."
The Cardinals could look to rely on Marco Wilson and a potential draft pick to replace Murphy, who missed some time last season with a back injury.
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