Byron Murphy Jr. is having a standout season at the perfect time. It’s a contract year for him and a season in which the Minnesota Vikings fielded a cobbled-together cornerback room full of one-year-rental veterans. Rookie corner Khyree Jackson tragically passed away, and promising second-year corner Mekhi Blackmon suffered a season-ending injury. Murphy was the only potential future piece we would see at cornerback this season, and he’s delivered. He’s earned much more money in the offseason and bolstered Minnesota’s confidence.
The University of Washington alum has posted a 74.8 PFF coverage grade, the best of his career, and 24th out of 213 qualifying cornerbacks. He reeled in his sixth interception of the season on Sunday, which leads all cornerbacks. He’s been a durable mainstay on whom defensive coordinator Brian Flores can rely, playing a career-high 93.2% of snaps to this point in the season.
Murphy’s inside-outside versatility may be his most valuable trait. His portability allows him to complement many different cornerback archetypes. At 5’11″, 190 lbs., he’s not your prototypical outside corner, even though that’s where he’s taken most of his snaps throughout his career. In 2020, he played over 69% of his snaps in the slot to fit next to Dre Kirkpatrick and Patrick Peterson. Following their departures the following season, he was the No. 1 corner.
Murphy always drew the toughest assignment in a division featuring D.K. Metcalf and Cooper Kupp. He would often shadow No. 1 receivers like Metcalf and Kupp in and out of the slot and to either side of the field. His play earned him a two-year, $17.5 million contract from Minnesota, worth up to $22.5 million. The Vikings may have gotten him at a lower price because he was coming off a back injury that kept him out of eight games in 2022.
Since arriving in Minnesota, Murphy has built on what he did in Arizona. Over four seasons with the Cardinals, he logged one forced fumble, nine tackles for loss, five interceptions, and 34 passes defended. In under two seasons with the Vikings, he’s charted two forced fumbles, nine tackles for loss, nine interceptions, and 25 passes defended.
Beyond the counting stats, he’s looked great on the field. He’s been sticky in coverage and has not been beaten deep, outside of one 36-yarder. His 18.1% missed tackle rate is concerning, but opponents seldom catch him out of position.
Through 13 games, he has spent 37% of his snaps in the slot and 54.6% on the outside. With Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin on board, Murphy heads to the slot in some nickel formations. However, given Josh Metellus’ Swiss Army knife versatility and Flores’ propensity for Big Nickel (three safeties instead of three cornerbacks), Murphy stays on the outside over half the time. Like Metellus and others on the defense, he’s the type of player Flores covets because his abilities allow B-Flo to get his best players on the field in many ways.
Murphy’s two-year deal expires after this season, and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah should prioritize extending him. He’s the best-known quantity on the right side of 30 that the Vikings have at corner. They have been chasing continuity at the position for four seasons.
It’s difficult to say he won’t continue to raise his market value over the last two months of the season. However, if his performance stands pat, his price will still be feasible.
Murphy will be 27 next season, so his contract could be similar to Carlton Davis‘ three-year, $44.5 million ($14.8 million AAV) contract. However, given the projected salary cap increase and his exceptional performance, we may see something more in the range of Deommodore Lenoir’s recent extension with the San Francisco 49ers ($17.9 million average annual value).
The Vikings would extend into three void years at $1.4 million each. Minnesota’s vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski (aka the cap guru) will spread more of that money into future void years as usual.
My prediction for Murphy Jr.’s extension: Three-years, $51 million, $30 million guarantee, plus two void years
That would leave his 2025 cap hit at roughly $9.1 million. I’d be very comfortable with something in this range. It would secure him through 2027, when he will be 29 years old, a perfect time to test the market again.
I have difficulty envisioning him getting much more than that on the open market. I doubt his value reaches L’Jarius Sneed’s four-year, $76 million contract, which the Tennessee Titans offered him this past offseason, or Jaylon Johnson and Tyson Campbell‘s extensions, which are roughly $19 million per season.
Murphy is young and could still improve over the life of his next contract. He’s been a huge part of the defense’s success this season. According to Murphy, he and the Vikings did have some extension talks in the preseason but couldn’t come to terms. He bet on himself in the final year of his deal, and it looks like it will pay off for him.