The Buffalo Bills bolstered their pass rush on Wednesday afternoon, signing veteran pass-rusher Trent Murphy to a three-year deal.
Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane has not been sitting back this offseason. After trading Tyrod Taylor to the Cleveland Browns last week, Beane jumped right back into the fray, this time adding Trent Murphy to the defense.
Murphy played the first four years of his career with the Washington Redskins, although he missed all of last year with a torn ACL. Murphy was also suspended for the first four games of the campaign for violating the league’s PED guidelines.
The 27-year-old was a force in 2016, notching nine sacks. Buffalo is hoping to get that version of Murphy, who could help Buffalo make consecutive playoff appearances for the first time since the 1995-96 seasons.
Contract details
Former Washington DE Trent Murphy intends to sign a 3-year, $21 million deal with the Buffalo Bills, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 14, 2018
For the #Bills and FA #Redskins pass-rusher Trent Murphy, it’s a 3-year deal worth up to $30M, source said.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2018
Buffalo signed Murphy for three years and $21 million. The structure of the contract is not yet known, but a good guess would be the contract is basically a two-year deal with a team option for a third year.
The deal could be worth a total of $30 million, assuming Murphy hits all of the incentives placed within the pact.
National reaction
A #Bills player who’s much more expendable after the signing of Trent Murphy... Lorenzo Alexander. They play the same position.
— Chris Trapasso 🏈 (@ChrisTrapasso) March 14, 2018
From our @nflnetwork coverage: The #Bills are signing pass-rusher Trent Murphy, the former #Redskin, to a 3-year deal. pic.twitter.com/ZNkK1I5ckJ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 14, 2018
Grade
Buffalo has to continue adding pass rush to the roster. With only the aging Jerry Hughes, Kyle Williams and Lorenzo Alexander, Murphy adds some youth to a group that really needed it.
Grade: B