Eric Murray (American football)

Eric Murray (born January 7, 1994) is an American football strong safety for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota,[1] and was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Cleveland Browns.

Eric Murray
Murray with the Chiefs in 2017
No. 23 – Houston Texans
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1994-01-07) January 7, 1994
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:199 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:Riverside University
(Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
College:Minnesota
NFL Draft:2016 / Round: 4 / Pick: 106
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2020
Total tackles:195
Sacks:4.0
Pass deflections:10
Interceptions:1
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Professional career
External video
Eric Murray's NFL Combine workout
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand size40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 10 5⁄8 in
(1.79 m)		 199 lb
(90 kg)		 31 3⁄4 in
(0.81 m)		 9 in
(0.23 m)		4.49 s1.54 s2.58 s4.05 s7.08 s39.5 in
(1.00 m)		10 ft 4 in
(3.15 m)		15 reps
All values from NFL Combine[2]

2016

The Kansas City Chiefs selected Murray in the fourth round (106th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft. He was the 17th cornerback drafted and the second cornerback selected by the Chiefs after third round pick KeiVarae Russell.[3]

External video
Chiefs select Eric Murray 106th overall

On May 17, 2016, the Chiefs signed Murray to a four-year, $2.96 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $599,803.[4]

Entering organized team activities, Murray was expected to compete for a job as the starting cornerback against Steven Nelson, Marcus Cooper, Phillip Gaines, KeiVarae Russell, and D. J. White after it was left vacant by the departure of Sean Smith to the Oakland Raiders in free agency.[5] During rookie minicamp, defensive coordinator Bob Sutton decided to try Murray at safety and opted to keep him at safety due to the retirement of Husain Abdullah, departure of Tyvon Branch in free agency, and an injury to Eric Berry.[6] Throughout training camp, he competed for the job at safety against Jamell Fleming, Stevie Brown, Daniel Sorensen, Ron Parker, Akeem Davis, and Shakiel Randolph.[7][8] Head coach Andy Reid named Murray the backup free safety behind Ron Parker to start the regular season.[9]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opener against the San Diego Chargers and recorded his first career tackle during a 33–27 overtime victory.[10] On December 25, 2016, Murray made a season-high two solo tackles in the Chiefs' 33–10 victory against the Denver Broncos.[10] He finished his rookie season with eight solo tackles and a fumble recovery in 16 games and zero starts.[11] Throughout the season, he was limited mostly to special teams and had only 67 snaps on defense. He tied with Daniel Sorensen for the team lead with 367 special teams snaps that accounted for 82% of them.[12]

The Kansas City Chiefs finished first in the AFC West with a 12–4 record, clinching a first round bye and home field advantage. On January 15, 2017, Murray appeared in his first career playoff game and made one tackle during their 18–16 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Divisional Round.[10]

2017

During OTA's and training camp, Murray competed for a job as a backup safety against Daniel Sorensen, Leon McQuay III, Marqueston Huff, and Jordan Stern.[13] Defensive coordinator Bob Sutton named him the backup free safety, behind Ron Parker, to start the regular season.[14]

Starting strong safety Eric Berry tore his Achilles tendon in the Chiefs' season-opening 42–27 victory at the New England Patriots and was expected to miss the rest of the season.[15] Murray was elevated to the Chiefs' premier backup safety role, participating in nickel and dime packages. On September 17, 2017, Murray recorded a season-high six solo tackles and two pass deflections in a 27–20 victory against the Philadelphia Eagles.[16] In Week 5, he earned his first career start and recorded two combined tackles during a 42–24 victory at the Houston Texans.[16] On November 26, 2017, Murray made one tackle before leaving the Chiefs' 16-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the second quarter after sustaining an injury.[16] He missed the next two games (Weeks 13–14) due to a high-ankle sprain and had Darrelle Revis fill in during his absence.[17] In Week 15, Murray made three solo tackles and his first career sack on quarterback Philip Rivers in the Chiefs' 30–23 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers.[16] On December 31, 2017, he earned his second career start after the Chiefs clinched a playoff berth and head coach Andy Reid opted to rest Daniel Sorensen and Ron Parker. Murray made two solo tackles in their 27–24 victory at the Denver Broncos.[16] He finished the 2017 season with 36 combined tackles (31 solo), five pass deflections, and a sack in 14 games and two starts.[11]

The Chiefs received a playoff berth, but lost to the Tennessee Titans 22–21 in the AFC Wildcard Game. Murray made one tackle during their loss.[16]

Cleveland Browns

Murray was traded to the Cleveland Browns on April 1, 2019 in exchange for Emmanuel Ogbah.[18]

Houston Texans

On April 1, 2020, Murray signed a three-year, $20.25 million contract with the Houston Texans.[19]

In Week 14 against the Chicago Bears, Murray led the team with 11 tackles and sacked Mitchell Trubisky twice during the 36–7 loss.[20]

NFL career statistics

Regular season
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCombTotalAstSckPDIntYdsAvgLngTDsFFFR
2016KC 1609900.00000.00001
2017KC 142363151.05000.00000
2018KC 1595543120.02100.00000
2019CLE 94241591.01000.00000
Career541512498262.08100.00001
Source: NFL.com

Postseason
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCombTotalAstSckPDIntYdsAvgLngTDsFFFR
2016KC 101100.000000000
2017KC 101100.000000000
2018KC 2010730.000000000
Career4012930.000000000
Source: pro-football-referencecom

References
  1. "Eric Murray enters NFL combine with experience as island corner - Arizona Cardinals Blog- ESPN". espn.go.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  2. "NFL Player stats: Eric Murray". NFL.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  3. Thorman, Joel (April 30, 2016). "Chiefs 2016 draft results: Minnesota CB Eric Murray is KC's fourth round pick". ArrowheadPride.com. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  4. "Spotrac.com: Eric Murray contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  5. Paylor, Terez (May 8, 2016). "Chiefs rookie cornerback Eric Murray lands Sean Smith's number, but faces a battle for his old spot". KansasCity.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  6. Thorman, Joel (May 10, 2016). "Chiefs check rookie corner Eric Murray out at safety". arrowheadpride.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  7. Derrick, Matt (August 25, 2016). "Move to safety paying off for Chiefs' Eric Murray".
  8. "Ourlads.com: Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart: 07/01/2016". Ourlads.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  9. "Ourlads.com: Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart: 10/01/2016". Ourlads.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  10. "NFL Player stats: Eric Murray (2016)". NFL.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  11. "NFL Player stats: Eric Murray (career)". NFL.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  12. Kissel, BJ (June 16, 2017). "Pre-Camp Reads: Eric Murray "Night and Day" Different from Last Year". HoustonTexans.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  13. "Ourlads.com: Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart: 07/01/2017". Ourlads.com. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  14. Thorman, Joel (September 3, 2017). "Chiefs first depth chart is here and not much has changed". arrowheadpride.com. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  15. Gartland, Dan (September 9, 2017). "Eric Berry Out for the Season with Torn Achilles Tendon". si.com. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  16. "NFL Player stats: Eric Murray (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  17. "Chiefs' Eric Murray: Nursing high-ankle sprain". cbssports.com. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  18. Gribble, Andrew (April 1, 2019). "Browns acquire Chiefs S Eric Murray in trade for DL Emmanuel Ogbah". ClevelandBrowns.com.
  19. "Texans agree to terms on the following moves". HoustonTexans.com. March 21, 2020.
  20. "Houston Texans at Chicago Bears - December 13th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
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