Bengals' Myles Murphy decision is one breakout season away from disaster

After the Cincinnati Bengals declined Myles Murphy’s fifth-year option, the young edge rusher has only one thing left to do: go ball. 

Hopefully, Murphy will do just that, at an extraordinary level, as he heads into a contract year. 

Now with everything to play for, Murphy has the opportunity to go beyond simply earning a free agent contract from another team with a Trey Hendrickson-like performance. 

Murphy has the chance to put the organization he currently plays for in an unenviable position. 

A Myles Murphy breakout could be costly for Bengals

If Murphy has a breakout Year 4 that only a few of his peers have had, that would put the front office in a bit of a pickle. 

Trey Hendrickson registered 25 tackles, 13.5 sacks, and 12 tackles for loss in his final season with the Saints before hitting free agency and eventually signing with Cincinnati. It is not unreasonable to think that with the added talent around him, Murphy can do something similar.

However, doing so would put the front office in a bind. A tight one that is already squeezing tightly due to spending up to the salary cap ceiling this offseason. DJ Turner, Dax Hill, and Chase Brown are a few players entering the final year of their contracts. Each of them is seeking future security. None of them has gotten it thus far.

The Bengals must get a deal done with at least DJ Turner so they don’t have to use the franchise tag to guarantee his services for the 2027 season. That would leave the option open to use the tag for Murphy if need be.

Over the Cap projects the franchise tag for defensive ends to be $28,718,000 next offseason. That is a significant raise over his $2,466,445 salary this season. 

If the Bengals can’t get a deal done with either of their impending free agents, they would have to use the tag, more than likely on Turner. 

Brown would be another option for the franchise-tender due to the relatively low cost for running backs under the tag. That would leave the door ajar for Murphy to hit free agency. 

However, if he records 13.5 sacks as Hendrickson did in his contract year with the New Orleans Saints, being a first-round pick rather than a third-rounder like Hendrickson was, Murphy could break the bank if allowed to hit the open market. 

The Bengals could also use the transition tag, worth $24,095,000, though that would make it easier for another team seeking pass-rush help to swoop in.

Option 3, and the least likely, is that they would work out a new deal to keep Murphy in Cincy next offseason. But again, if Murphy hits 13.5 sacks, or even double digits, while being a disruptive force, he could price himself out of the Bengals market. 

Or, in the end, the Bengals could go the way of the Saints and let him hit free agency, no matter what happens. 

What the Bengals are hoping happens

It may become awkward, but rest assured that the Bengals brass hopes they will face a contract dilemma with Murphy.

The best outcome for the Bengals in the Murphy saga is for him to perform up to what Trey Hendrickson did in 2020. Such a performance would ultimately help the team immensely in its efforts to return to the playoffs after a three-year hiatus from the postseason. 

No matter what the Bengals decide to do with Murphy after 2026, if the team has a successful season, there will not be any wrong answers. 

We can’t be sure what would happen if Murphy has a meteoric Year-4 in line with Hendrickson’s, but we’d love to find out. Figuring out what to do after that would be a great problem to have. 

And as Andrew Whitworth put it, Murphy and the entire Bengals team must seize the opportunity. 

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