The Minnesota Vikings let starting cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. play out the 2024 season in a contract year, and in a sense, they were rewarded with his most productive year as a pro.
In his second year with defensive coordinator Brian Flores — and with increased reps in the slot — Murphy posted career highs in tackles (81), interceptions (6) and passes defensed (14) this past season. The good news for Minnesota is that they found the best way to deploy the versatile 27-year-old.
The bad news is that the team will now likely have to overpay to retain his services in 2025 and beyond.
While Murphy’s box score numbers were off the charts, PFF graded him 21st among NFL corners in pass coverage. He doesn’t project as your prototypical lock-down, No. 1 boundary corner, and if he’s commanding that kind of coin on the open market next week, the Vikings will find themselves in a tough situation.
Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports sees Murphy as a free agent flight risk. Sullivan predicts Murphy will sign his third pro contract with the Baltimore Ravens. Here was his take on the potential fit:
Baltimore’s defense dramatically improved down the stretch after being at the bottom of the barrel through the first 10 weeks. While they were the best unit in the league in points per game allowed, totaling yards per game, and on third down from Week 11 through Week 18, there is still room for improvement in the secondary. Murphy may not be as expensive as some other defensive backs set to hit the market, which fits well with Baltimore as don’t have a ton of cap space to work with entering free agency. Still, Murphy enjoyed a breakout season in 2024 where he was named to the Pro Bowl after totaling 14 pass breakups and six interceptions. In a conference littered with elite quarterbacks, bolstering the secondary is vital for the Ravens in their hopes of getting over the hump and into the Super Bowl.
Again, it all comes down to the price for Murphy, and Minnesota’s decision to pass on using the franchise tag signals two things: The two sides aren’t particularly close on a new multi-year deal; and the Vikings suspect a more favorable market than his projected $52 million over three years ($17.3M annually).
While Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has had alarming issues in the draft, few in the league have been better at finding impact players in free agency that don’t break the bank. He could be at it again next week. Minnesota’s secondary is far from intact, with safeties Josh Metellus and Theo Jackson the only known commodities currently under team control for 2025. The team has next to no cornerbacks locked up outside of Mekhi Blackmon, a 2023 third-round pick who spent all of 2024 on injured reserve.
The main issue here for the Ravens, outside of their salary cap situation, is that they already roster one of the NFL’s premiere slot corners in Marlon Humphrey. Baltimore could definitely use an upgrade over Brandon Stephens on the outside, but Murphy’s best football has come when he’s used as a chess piece, moving around the formation from the boundary, to the slot, to even up in the box at times. Maybe the Ravens view him as that kind of an asset, but what they really need is a running mate on the outside for Nate Wiggins.
Murphy’s a tough free agent to project. Spotrac lists his market value at four years, $88.3 million. That kind of offer would be a mistake, and the guess here is that the Vikings let their breakout star walk at anything close to that number.
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