Former Vikings Defender Visits Steelers, Future in Minnesota Unclear
As some teams continue to chase the Super Bowl, others prepare for the offseason and sign players they think could help them in the future. The Vikings added ten players to futures contracts since the last game of the season. One guy not included was Gabriel Murphy, a 2024 rookie out of UCLA. He’s free to sign elsewhere and might take his talents to the AFC.
On Friday, Murphy visited the Steelers.
Murphy initially joined the Vikings after the 2024 Draft as an undrafted rookie. He surprisingly went through the three-day event without hearing his name called despite a productive college career.
That took place at North Texas for three seasons (with a 12-sack year in 2021), followed by a two-year stint at UCLA. In his second campaign in the Pac-12, he logged 16 tackles for loss and 8 sacks, lining up on the opposite side of eventual first-rounder Laiatu Latu, who’s now wreaking havoc for the Indianapolis Colts.
At 6’2″ and 248 lbs, Murphy isn’t the biggest edge defender. Throw in short arms and you’ll get a player who tumbles on draft day despite showing promise in college. The Vikings picked him up. They had shown before that physical limitations don’t matter too much if a guy can play.
His rookie year was cut short due to a knee injury suffered in the summer. He missed the preseason and most of his debut season, ultimately playing in two contests later in the season. Last offseason, he got his second chance.
Indeed, it looked like Murphy was taking advantage of that, dominating in the preseason. He led the entire league in QB hits in the preseason and added 1.5 sacks to the scorecard. In many instances, he looked like he didn’t belong on the field with the other depth players. He consistently flashed above that level, tabulating eight QB pressures, five QB hits, and a pair of sacks.
After one of those preseason explosions, head coach Kevin O’Connell said, “Gabe’s been a guy that has shown up daily at camp, highlighted in front of the team. It feels like a man on a mission right now in a lot of ways. And I’m just proud of him, proud of where he’s at in camp right now.”
Shockingly, the Vikings still cut him. Possibly even more stunning was the fact that he went through waivers unclaimed and just returned to the practice squad, seemingly without much interest from around the league. In the past season, Murphy appeared in just one game, playing five defensive snaps and 13 on special teams against the Atlanta Falcons.
Instead, the Vikings turned to fellow sophomore Bo Richter as well as rookies Tyler Batty and Chaz Chambliss to provide depth behind the top trio of Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner.
If he ends up signing with the Steelers, Murphy will have to show his new head coach that he belongs on the field. The identity of that coach is still unknown after Mike Tomlin stepped down. Brian Flores will interview for that gig.
Murphy turned 25 in October. Perhaps a change of scenery will be good for his career.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.