The Cincinnati Bengals did lose Trey Hendrickson to free agency this offseason, but they did more than enough to make up for his loss with myriad personnel moves on the defensive line. Myles Murphy is the one mainstay at defensive end from last year who'll factor heavily into Cincinnati's 2026 plans.
Sadly, we can't even count Shemar Stewart as a "mainstay" since his rookie season was such a non-event. Like Stewart, Murphy was looking like a first-round bust early in his career. Halfway through his third NFL season in 2025, though, the light went on for Murphy.
Thanks to increased playing time and upping his self-admitted lackluster work ethic, Murphy piled up 52 combined tackles and 5.5 sacks to set himself up as a legit piece of the Bengals' future.
But Cincinnati's brain trust wants to see more from Murphy this year. You know, when the season isn't all but lost and the games actually matter. It's a risky move if you ask me. Nevertheless, let's project what Murphy's next contract might look like now that the Bengals have declined his fifth-year option.
Predicting Myles Murphy's next contract as Bengals boldly reject extra year of team control
Bengals dot come senior writer Geoff Hobson released a story about Murphy's fifth-year option being declined, with the headline, "Bengals Eye Cap Flexibility And Long-Term Deal With Myles Murphy."
So no, it's not like the Bengals intend to kick Murphy to the curb. There must be a master plan at work here. Like, maybe Cincinnati is going to get a tad more creative with the salary cap than usual!?
This would be a refreshing change of pace. Murphy flashed the form of an above-average starter in the second half of last season, though. The current window for this core of Bengals players runs through 2028, which marks the end of newly acquired All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence's contract. Anything beyond that, nobody can really speak to.
What would've been the harm of Murphy playing out this year, and playing 2027 on a modest $14.5 million price tag? That's way below the franchise tag, and there's a chance that, if the Bengals can't reach an extension with Murphy prior to Week 1 this year, he could become too expensive to keep.
Also to consider: Star running back Chase Brown, and cornerbacks DJ Turner and Dax Hill, are all extension-eligible. Hill is on his fifth-year option, but he and Turner share the same agent. Could be a Ja'Marr Chase-Tee Higgins package deal all over again.
It's becoming quite the crowded defensive end group in Cincinnati, too. The Bengals just drafted Texas A&M's Cashius Howell with the 41st overall pick. Between Howell, Stewart, and free-agent acquisition Boye Mafe, that's a lot of depth and talent to go around in addition to Murphy.
Murphy playing so well that fitting him on the salary cap books in the future would be a nice, uptown problem for Cincinnati to have. However, with all the different bodies in the mix now, I see Murphy more as a solid, not spectacular player who'll produce similar numbers to 2025.
What does that get you on a multi-year extension? I mean, it's generous to say Murphy is a top-30 defensive end in the NFL. To me, his ceiling is something like Chase Young, Harold Landry III, or maybe a slightly poor man's Bradley Chubb.
Given that Young is playing on a $17 million per year deal at age 27, and Landry and Chubb are at $14.5 million per year at 30 years old, I could see Murphy fetching something like $18.5 million a year, with a little bit of added tax to account for the continually-rising market and salary cap.
That brings us to this bottom-line accord:
Myles Murphy contract prediction: 3 years, $55.5 million
This is less than what Mafe got in free agency on his three-year, $60 million deal, but it seems fair. Put it this way: I'd be shocked if anyone outbid the Bengals for Murphy at that number.
Now let's see if Murphy can outplay that price tag, rack up double-digit sacks, and earn even more if an extension doesn't go through before the new season kicks off. That'd be awesome!
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