Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy is taking the right approach after the team passed on exercising his fifth-year option. Murphy is set to become a free agent next year if Cincinnati can't hammer home an extension.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy sounds hopeful he'll be staying in Cincinnati long-term despite the Bengals not exercising the fifth-year option of his rookie contract.
"Very hopeful," Murphy told Andrew Fox Miller of Cincinnati Bengals Talk. "I love the city. They love me, and that's all a player can ask for. Security, and just knowing that you're wanted. And I really do appreciate that. I appreciate everyone in the organization and my teammates and coaches.
"The fifth-year [option] wasn't there, but that's not for me to worry about," Murphy continued. "I'm here to play football with my teammates. I'm here to be out there, blood, sweat, and tears with my guys, and just appreciate the opportunity to just come back and just play with my guys."
It's a complicated message the Bengals have sent Murphy. They want to keep him around beyond 2026, but not at the cost of a guaranteed $14.475 million salary . They see him as a piece of the future, but have invested significant capital in Cashius Howell, Boye Mafe , and Shemar Stewart at his position.
Murphy's simply focused on the year ahead, and that Cincy still wants to extend him before he may hit the market in 10 months. That's a good sign for something to happen in the coming months.
The Bengals asked more out of Murphy in 2025 than they did in the previous two years combined. Sam Hubbard was no longer on the team, and Trey Hendrickson was out for most of the year. The first-round pick from 2023 had to elevate himself as the top pass rusher on a struggling defense, and he showed needed progress in the final eight games of the season. He recorded 28 pressures and four sacks to close out the year as a starter.
Murphy will now be a firm leader alongside with Mafe of the Bengals' new-look EDGE group with Stewart and Howell backing up the starters. It's a dynamic Cincinnati will want to keep going forward starting with a long-term extension this summer.
Whether it happens or not, Murphy will have his head on straight when the games begin.
