Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Vikings free agency special (Part 2) Hour 3: Byron Murphy re-signs with Minnesota on a three-year deal

Episode Date: March 11, 2025

Matthew Coller reacts live to free agent prices being out of control and the Vikings having a quiet day so far. Will they have a quiet evening though?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All right, Byron Murphy, three years, $66 million. The most important part of this is going to be the structure on it and whether it is actually three years, $66 million, or if that's just the number that looks the best, but this is a ton for Byron Murphy. And I can't go back on everything I said about Byron Murphy over the last few weeks, where my main opinion on Murphy was, at a certain price, I really like it. At too much, I don't like it as much.

But one of the issues is that a lot of the other corners that might have been on the table, they signed with other teams. And as soon as that happened, as soon as Carlton Davis signed elsewhere and as soon as charvarius ward and. The other corners that were out there were finding homes. then DJ Reed is the one I was searching for. They all found homes that left Byron Murphy. There was really a top tier of four or maybe five top corners and the other ones found homes and that left the Vikings with Byron Murphy Jr. The other thing is too that Murphy had a ton of interest around the league.

I know this. I went to the combine and talked to people and he was the name that kept coming up of hey, this guy is going to get paid. This guy has a lot of interest around the league. He got a ton of interceptions last year. He's a playmaker. He's got high character, he understands their defense really well, and he is a top cornerback with his age to be looking at that he's a little younger than some of these other guys.

And familiarity does cost something in this case. And even though I thought, okay, at 16 million, I would like Byron Murphy and at twenty two I don't know that's a lot at the same time where you can come around to it is. If they just improve the offensive line for not that much and if their plan on offensive line isn't to spend crazy money on somebody else and the crazy money that they spent on Byron Murphy is made up for in other places where they don't go nuts. Okay. The other thing is too, and this is what makes the biggest difference overall for him signing a three year, $22 million a year contract is this is why you have a rookie quarterback contract. So you can overpay someone that you like.

Of course, this is overpaying. Byron Murphy is a really good player. And when we look at his numbers, I think that they're skewed a little bit as far as his target numbers go, because he plays so much zone coverage. And a lot of the times the completions are short and that just shows up in the data. because he plays so much zone coverage. And a lot of the times the completions are short

and that just shows up in the data. He graded well this year and I'll pull that up because I've been giving out kind of the PFF grades and everything else of where guys ranked. He was a top 20 corner this year and PFF is not gonna overrate guys for interceptions. Like they, if they throw it right to you, they're not gonna give a guy a big, if they throw it right to you, they're not going to give a guy a

big score because they threw it right to you. Like that's the purpose of. PFF. It's like what they do is to try to give us the true, how someone performed a top 20 corner in free agency. And if we compare that Murphy was 18th and Carlton Davis was 15th and Carlton Davis played in a different type of system. But that just is, I think, shows you like that's what it costs in free agency to get a top 20 corner, which Byron Murphy was last year.

He has flexibility position wise to play outside. You can play inside and more than anything, he understands exactly whatrian flores wants out of his corners and we have a very small sample size of byron murphy jr not playing when he was injured but he's got a really good track record of health which is also important as well. amount that he didn't play in 2023, their defense collapsed, which I think was, was really telling about what Byron Murphy brought to the table or brings to the table beyond just he's not a shut down, put them on the outside guy, him versus the star receiver and get your popcorn ready. But defense just doesn't work that way as much in the NFL anymore.

And guys who understand the system get rewarded a lot. Some of those interceptions from Byron Murphy were just him reading and reacting and jumping passes and intercepting them. We saw that against the Colts when he had one of his interceptions. He probably won't get six picks every year, but he does have great hands. So for me, it's always been this kind of push and pull when I've been talking about it because at 22 million, that is a lot. That is a lot. But at the same time, I really do like the player. I really do think that Byron Murphy is a good player. And if we go through the other corners that are still out there, all right. Yeah, it's 22 million, but who else has the track record of Byron Murphy Jr.

Because now he has multiple seasons with the Vikings. He was a good Arizona Cardinal as well. And he's been better since he's been here, but especially last year, but he now has a sample size of how many years in the NFL is 27 years old. So this only takes him to 30 years old. So he's still in his prime. He's one of the younger free agents at the position and he's a playmaker on the football. He's somebody that understands the defense that Brian Flores likes.

And that's another key part of it too, that it's sort of in the same way that we trust Kevin O'Connell about quarterbacks. I think we can trust in Brian Flores and all day to eight eight four says this. If Brian Flores wants it back, then you bring him back. Even if it, the price is going to be, then you bring him back. Even if the price is going to be higher than you would have expected. But just like Milton Williams signing with the New England Patriots for too much money, when you have a lot of cap space, too much money is much more okay than it used to be.

In the days where they were working around Kirk Cousins contract, they just would not have been able to do this. They would have lost Byron Murphy. There was no way that they could overpay to keep their guy. And in this case, they are able to do that. And there is a good point that Kevin Seifert makes, which is the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. Because if you go out and get somebody that is from the outside that

you're not sure how they're going to fit you know a lot less information about how they're going to react to the system how they're going to react to the coaching style the locker room the whole defense with Byron Murphy you pay for security and what Daniel says 35 million guaranteed. So that's only about half the contract being guaranteed. So I'm thinking, just thinking out loud, maybe we can find a comparable contract to this. Actually, is there a comparable contract that we can find for corners? Because I'm thinking that the 66 million and 22 per year is going to look a little different in the light of day in terms of cap hits. Like maybe Jair Alexander was kind of like this where it was 30 million

guaranteed, even though the bit, the total number was over 20 per year and with Jair he had a couple of cheap seasons and then, you know, they're thinking about moving on from him. Now, uh, maybe AJ, AJ Terrell got more than, so when we look at fully guaranteed or even total, total guaranteed, this puts him more in the range of where Carlton Davis is with his new contract. Carlton Davis got 35 million fully guaranteed and Paulson Adibo got 30 million guaranteed. So when we look at that figure,

which is usually the most important, that figure is telling us that it's more in the ballpark for the guaranteed money of where Carlton Davis was and not where necessarily Jerry Alexander or Patrick Surtan or Denzel Ward. It's not exactly like that because the guaranteed mark is lower than those types of guys. And usually what ends up happening is if you need to move on from this player, the guaranteed money is going to tell you how much dead cap space you're going to have and things like that. So that is the most important number to focus on here. And it sounds a lot more reasonable than 22 million per year.

This actually kind of reminds me of TJ Hawkinson when they extended Hawkinson. It was, Hey, he wants to be the highest paid corner in, or I'm sorry, tight end. Hawkinson wanted to be the highest paid tight end in the NFL. And technically he was, but when you broke down the cap hits, when you broke down the guaranteed dollars, it really wasn't. And Blade Runner says more, it's more like 18 for a year. Right. So I think that this with the guaranteed dollars becomes a lot more on the reasonable side.

Like Patrick Sertan, the best corner in the league has $77 million guaranteed. And if this is 35, I assume you guys are seeing it correctly, 35 million, then that's nowhere close to being the highest paid, even if his number for average annual value, which is always one that everybody says, Hey, be careful on those because those can tell a different story than is the reality of the contract. So the structure is going to matter, but the guaranteed money seems much more reasonable

than the average annual value. And again, I just think buyer Murphy is a good player and on a defense that was in the top five, keeping a good player to now go with Isaiah Rogers, Mackay Blackman, Dwight McClother, and I think maybe one more guy at the cornerback room, all of a sudden it seems like it's pretty solid from the cornerback perspective. Now you've got to figure out safety and they've got to figure out other spots,

but even think about it this way, even if like, let's look at the Vikings numbers right now for over the cap for how much cap space they have So it's not going to be a for next year a 22 million dollar cap It that's just not gonna be how it goes The updated cap space for the Vikings says 58 million dollars right now And I don't know if that counts Ryan Kelly it probably doesn't so let's just assume. It's more like 50 million dollars right now Even if Byron Murphy Jr.

Makes up 12 million to that 14 million of that. You still have a ton of money to work with to sign more offensive linemen. Look at a defensive tackle, sign a safety, whatever they need to do. And again, this is one of those situations where you just look at JJ McCarthy and say, thank you. Thank you for all the cap space because the top quarterbacks in the league are making $60 million in the cap or having to be restructured when they're making 50, $60 million. And JJ McCarthy is going to be making five.

And that cap space, the difference allows you to go, you know what, Byron Murphy, I got the money. Here you go. Why don't you come back? So it looks like an overpay from the initial tweet. It does not look like an overpay from the guaranteed money, which is going to be more important. And the fact that Murphy is 27 years old and is loved inside the building, appreciated by Kevin O'Connell, really, really appreciated. It seems by Brian

Flores, we have gotten to the point where they've made so many good decisions with stuff like this that you go, all right, that's probably right. And the one thing about DJ Reid. So I know that some of you mentioned like, Hey, would you rather have paid DJ read this? The answer is maybe a DJ Reid is on the older side in comparison. Let me check how old DJ Reid is. DJ Reid is 28.3. So he'll be 29 during the season. So that's a year and a half older.

That might make a difference. And also the way that he plays is a more physically demanding type of style. I like DJ Reid a ton, but he does commit a lot of penalties and maybe Brian Flores doesn't want to do more of a man-to-man defense. Maybe he is more of a, I'm going to stick with this zone and play it behind my blitzes. And they always just kind of talk about, well, you know, we want a little more man-to-man, but that's not really what they are looking for because they didn't sign these other guys.

So the fact that Byron Murphy is younger or just as young and fits in as well as he does top 20 corner by PFF six interceptions last year, fact that Byron Murphy is younger or just as young and fits in as well as he does top 20 corner by PFF six interceptions last year. I think he's going to continue to make plays on the football. All of that adds up to it's better for your football team. This is where we need to be a little less discerning. And I think I've probably said a bunch of times throughout the day, like, Oh, that's a ton for him. I don't know about that, but if the Vikings had done it, it would have been

okay because every team is a different context. Every team has its own cap situation, its own future cap situation, its own needs, its own timeline. The Vikings timeline, as you heard Kevin Seifert say, their timeline is you got to win right now. It's go time, baby. Go win, right? Once your young quarterback in year two is taken over and you got that cap space, go spend it.

Go try to win. This is a you're not just rebuilding trying to bring in another guy hoping he's cheaper. And one of my major complaints of the Kirk era when they were call it the cap screwed era of Resigning Kirk with big immovable contracts was bashad Breland It was just that was a starting answer was to go into free agency at the end of the year or at the end of free agency and bring in a guy who just or at the end of free agency and bring in a guy who just had had better days in

the past for a couple million bucks because he was the only thing you could afford and how many players walked out the door during that time or the Vikings were non-competitive on during that time. So the fact that now they are in this position of being as cap healthy as they are to go out and overpay their guy to keep them. I can't have it both ways, right? I can't talk about, man, you know, it's an overpay, but then say, oh, this is what they should be it is way more than we expected average annual value. It's much more of a, I think one of you framed it as a two year, $35 million contract. I agree with you that the guaranteed money matters more, but just having the player back, having this player back with a defense that was in the top five.

Is better for the Vikings than it would be if he had left. And that's, I think the bottom line on this is we can certainly pick apart. Oh man, you know, they gave up too much for this and they should have done that. Uh, then, and Jason brings up the comp pic thing. I'm just going to lose my mind over the comp pic thing, but you are're right in the compact formula keeping byron murphy it does help you there. I see just got the compact thing drives me crazy but yeah you're right about that i guess that's an extra benefit but when you're talking about just knowing what you have in byron murphy you know his health history. You know what makes him tick you, what works for him schematically.

He also is a leader on the team, all those things, giving a little bit too much for somebody who has all of those things. And, uh, Michael, it's not, it's not one good year for Byron Murphy. It's not, uh, it's one year with six interceptions, but when you look at Byron Murphy's history, just in general, and I remember talking about this when they signed him, he's been a good to solid corner for his entire career. And he hadn't had a breakout type of interception season.

But even if you go back to before they signed him, he was still in terms of numbers wise, still very solid, uh, in his career. And then in 2023, I thought numbers wise in 23, that there was a little misleading because like in terms of his grades and stuff like that, because he fits so well in that defense. In the minute he was out of there, they really fell apart. Um, So I think overall, this is going to be a contract that we when we see the details, it will look a lot different than what it looks like now.

And it's just much better to have a good player on your team than it isn't. Like that's, you know, and yeah, Ben, you're saying 22 mil a year is too much. But is the contract 22 mil on the salary cap? What it says in the Adam Schefter tweet doesn't really matter as much as what it looks like on their actual salary cap books. And just as I mentioned, but if you're just jumping in here, when we look at comparable contracts for guaranteed money, it looks much more like Carlton Davis's deal Carlton Davis's guaranteed

money was $35 million, $34.5 million. Paul Senedadibo's $30 million. Sharvaris Ward's $26 million. This is the same contract. It's just dressed up a little bit different to be $22 million a year in a very similar way that it was for TJ Hawkinson, where I remember going through this, TJ Hawkinson's average annual value never met his cap hit at any point. Like that's how the cap works. It's not fake, it's just weird. It's just moldable.

That's what it is. So I think that it's important to keep that in mind that when it comes out like this, that, oh, it's 66 mil, and then we go, whoa. And that was my reaction. Whoa. 66 mil. And then you go, oh, only 35 guaranteed. That's so much different. That's so much different. So as far as Jonathan Allen, I don't know what's going to happen there. He's visiting.

Doesn't mean he's going to necessarily sign. He might as soon as I sign off, you probably will. But Javon Holland has been somebody the Vikings are in on and we might still see things happening and percolating as we go on into the night here. And I'm thinking that just in general, after six hours of live streaming, talking football today, I probably should not carry on unless something big happens. If I want to be able to talk to you guys tomorrow, when more moves will inevitably go down in the rest of the week and do my other podcasts with

like Chris Trapasso on the draft and things like that. So, um, yeah, with, uh, what, what number are you looking at? Passer rating allowed for Byron Murphy. So that's an interesting number two to deal with. What did he have last year? No, last year with Byron Murphy, it was 80.5 last year. So he was 15th best in the league last season, um, last year. So I'm not, I'm sorry.

Maybe I wasn't following who you're talking to, but the, the, he was top, top 20 in grade, top 20 in quarterback rating allowed. And he did allow a lot of targets, but I think that when you look at even yards per reception, his yards per reception is in the top 20, because a lot of those targets are, are fast. A lot of them are, there's a blitz. It's a hot route, get the ball out. And then the guy makes the catch buyer.

Murphy tackles them. PFF will just, you know, circle. All right. That's the guy who allowed the reception, but they don't give them a bad grade because it's a short throw right in front of him, right? So he's not getting beat deep a ton with statistics like that. So I don't think that with the actual numbers that are out there and Murphy's talent, that this is a bad signing at all.

I think this is much better that they keep them around and try to repeat as best they can what they did last year, because this isn't a defense that needs a ton of moves. It's really a defense that needs a little bit better at certain areas, including defensive tackle. We'll see what happens safety and major 33 how much cap space is left after this. I don't know because we don't know the structure of the deal. We have to know the structure of these deals to really know. But even, even if it was a lot, even if it's 15 mil on the cap this year,

probably won't be even if it's 15 mil on the cap this year, they would still have like 35, 40 million to work with. So there's so much of that. Um, can, can you afford more free agents, Luke? Yeah, of course they can. Of course they can. So much of that. Um, can, can you afford more free agents, Luke? Yeah, of course they can. Of course they can. They get right now.

They have a lot of cap space to still work with. All they've spent is seven and a half on a corner and nine on a center. And then, uh, what is this? 22 on Byron Murphy, but it's not going to be 22 and they have the ability to move on from Garrett Bradbury, which is going to save them three and a half. They have Brian O'Neill can be restructured like there's lots of things that they could do that they shouldn't even have to pull those levers

so they could still get and I guess we're going with freeze now for the pronunciation. I really liked it better for alignment when it was fries, but I'll, I'll look, I'll ask somebody. I know somebody who covers the Colts. I'll just ask him, but, uh, they could still chase will fries or freeze did not get signed today. They could still go after him. They could still sign Jonathan Allen. They could still sign a Javon Holland. There's a lot of things that

they can still do here. My wife's going to need to pour some water on my head to cool me down. Yeah, well, hey, it's been a great day, even if the moves have not been crazy. But now you come away with improved pass blocking, solidifying the cornerback room and at least making those steps on day one. And we know the answer to the quarterback situation. We know the answer to Byron Murphy or I'm sorry, Cameron Bynum. Like we have these answers now. So it was kind of a big day. I think it was kind of a big day for the Vikings. Um, I don't,

is there a possibility they keep Bradbury? I guess so. Cause he does, he is under contract but that would kind of seem odd if they kept him to be a backup. Mark is there a young lineman available there are. I think the best guy for that is tevin jenkins who is got an injury history but is also perform really well in terms of pass blocking and maybe they just like to make bets on when it comes to like players who have had some injury history that they can make them better. Uh, there's not a ton of young offensive linemen though, and that's to be expected because those guys stay with their teams.

Uh, so. We'll we'll freeze is the top target. Javon Holland is the top target and Jonathan Allen is the top target. And if they are able to bring in two of those guys, then they would end up having a pretty good start to free agency. And then we'll see the other type of, uh, signings roll in the guys that are going to fill out the roster and, and go from there, but this is an enormous, enormous signing.

It isn't from somebody else, from other team. So when it's another team's guy, it's like, whoa, who's this? Could he be the guy that changes everything? So sometimes it's less exciting when it's your own player, because you know the ups and downs of that guy. But when it comes to what Byron Murphy brings to the table, they view him as a key part of this defense. And if that's how Brian Flores sees it,

I would have to agree. ST Perp, you see a signing Zeitler at guard instead of Freeze possible. I've liked that possible. I've liked that idea. I've liked that idea. If Will Freeze is going to cost 20 million. Or Kevin Zeitler is going to cost nine. I would rather have Zeitler. I think he's a better player. And I think that

freeze is going to get overpaid, at least freeze, I think is good. That that was my issue with some of the signings today is they just weren't they just weren't good players. They just I mean, Aaron Banks is just not a good player. And some of the other ones that signed for big money. Tershawn Wharton is just not a great player. He's okay, but he had fewer pressures than Delvin Tomlinson last year. That's not great.

And you don't want the Vikings to do that. Chris. Yep. They could pick up Cooper Cup if he gets released. Yep, they could do that. So the salary cap being what it is, and that's and this is how unfortunately I like to be solid in my opinions. But unfortunately, with this type of situation, because of their

salary cap being so healthy, I think I have to say like, oh, this guy got overpaid, man. I don't know if I would have done that. But if they had done it, I would have been like say like, Oh, this guy got overpaid, man. I don't know if I would have done that, but if they had done it, I would have been like, okay, well, they can overpay. That's like the Milton Williams thing. If they had paid Milton Williams 26, I would have been like, Oh, I don't know. But also. You got him.

He's a good player, so they're in an interesting spot when it comes to that. I think that with this just for the day, if this ends up being it for the day, it's pretty good day for them. A very solid corner who's a veteran that's been around in Isaiah Rogers, who's been successful as more of a part-time player and then your main big signing bring back buyer Murphy Jr. And then adding a pass blocking center to improve their

not bad and Now there's more to be done and I don't have an update on on Daniel Jones or whether Jonathan. I've been with you guys What I've been with you guys. I haven't been driving past TCO Performance Center with my, do I see Jonathan Hale anywhere? Is that him? Like I've been here. So I'm not sure. I haven't seen any updates on Twitter, if that's what you're asking.

Twitter did come back though. Good for it. It really looked like it was dead on arrival there for a minute there. So we'll soon enough, we will get details and there will be another podcast on that when it comes to the details of Byron Murphy's deal. I did want to mention too that as far as the numbers go,

um, I'm sorry, I lost my train of thought reading what Brandon Thorne had to say about Ryan Kelly. Good follow on Twitter. Oh, James Daniels. So James Daniels signed and he only got three years, 24 million. And that means chug another doctor. But yeah, I know I could keep going. I could definitely keep going. Who do I see is the most likely next signing? I would like to see Javon Holland as the as the next guy, but I think that will Freeze is likely Ben Gessling has the cap hits. I see that he's got the cap hits for Cambynum I don't see that he has it yet with

With Byron Murphy, it's got to get into the system first It's got to get into the NFL system and that's how people find out. They don't, they don't just like, it doesn't magically appear. They that's how they find out. So, Oh, what did Brandon Thorn say about Kelly? That's a great question. He said, uh, Ryan Kelly is entering free agency is the longest tenured colt with 121 starts, multiple pro bowl selections and a perennial team captain badge.

He missed seven games last season due to neck and knee injuries, which was most the time He's missed since the most time he's missed since 2017 He was solid went on the field and even better in 2023 when he was healthier. Kelly has passed his prime He doesn't have as sturdy of an anchor or as much power as he once had, but still has spring in his step to reach shades, which is when the guy is outside you and then reaching their opposite shoulder. So that's what shading is. If you didn't know, uh, and intersect targets at the second level, he brings renowned competitive toughness,

leadership qualities and processing skills to the pivot, despite being closer to the pivot. Despite being closer to the end than the beginning and carrying some durability questions, Kelly's on field play is still top 10-12 level at his position which should fetch a short term contract as a starter somewhere this off season. So Brandon Thorne, that is the trench warfare newsletter which I read yesterday when it came to his top targets and all of that sounds like if he's top 10 and he's still a really good

past protector. But the thing that really stands out there that he said is processing. And I think that these interior positions are really about processing now as much as strength. It's just about seeing where the guys are moving and coming your way. And experience makes such a difference at those positions. Yeah, Denise, you're right. It looks like it's the Byron Murphy deal.

When we get the guaranteed money, it looks much different than the twenty two million dollars per year. Looks much different. And even if her Harrison Smith comes back, I still think that Jevon Holland is a good option if he wants to sign back with the guy who drafted him, which was Brian Flores. So the opportunities here, they've improved or stayed the same, which is important when your top five defense today

improved his past protection, added a role player that can be helpful and might be a player on the rise is a rogers old. And they know they're getting black been back and now they've got a chance to get interior d line. Offensive lines gonna have to be addressed maybe on the first day it wasn't really the best thing to do with some of the prices and And even James Daniels shows that maybe the second level behind Aaron Banks is already dropping off with the prices and they'll have a big opportunity to do that. So I am definitely out of vocals for today. I think earlier I reacted to the move for Isaiah Rogers, Sam Darnold leaving lots of other stuff going on, lots of moves and prices being set. So make sure you check that one out. This has been an incredible stream from you guys. Great questions,

great comments. Appreciate Andrew Kramer and Kevin Seifert. And here's the thing. So it's nine o'clock right now, but I'm not going to do anything else tonight. I'm going to go upstairs. I'm going to start writing my reactions for the newsletter, purple insider dot football. Make sure you go and sign up for that. If you want to support the show, it's just support what we do here. Purple insider dot football is a great place.

I'm writing a reaction to every move. Um, there's a rumor that the Vikings offered Holland 21 and he declined. Okay. Well, we'll see, uh, if that happens, he's a guy for me Vikings offered Holland 21 and he declined. Okay. Well, we'll see if that happens. He's a guy for me that I, that I like, but anyway, so if, if I'm upstairs and I'm working on my written reactions and opinions on what happened today and Jonathan Allen signs, we get that from Schefter, I'll be back here. I'll be back live.

So set the notifications. That's important. And guess what I'm doing tomorrow? Nothing, nothing. The what I'm doing tomorrow. Nothing Nothing, the schedule is totally clear tomorrow So guess what if they sign someone right here and even if they don't seven o'clock tomorrow night Approximately 730 probably tomorrow night right here live on the show. You guys have been phenomenal tonight great comments Tremendous tremendous stuff in the comment section.

Great questions, great thoughts. Really appreciate that. Respectful of each other. You guys weren't overreacting like social media to stuff. We waited it out. We got the payoff with the big contract, so we'll see where it goes from there. But I appreciate all you guys, Andrew Kramer and Kevin Seifert for coming in. And I am sure we will talk very soon. So thank you again and we'll see you soon. Football.