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Eric Murray

Jaguars S Eric Murray Activated Off IR

December 6th, 2025 at 3:15pm CST by Ely Allen

The Jaguars are set to see a key member of their defense return for an extremely important closing stretch of the season. Veteran starting safety Eric Murray is coming off of injured reserve with an activation made by the team today.

Murray joined Jacksonville early into free agency, after five years with the division-rival Texans. He had first arrived in Houston as a full-time starter, but he got benched for a five-week stretch in his second season with the team. He spent the 2022 season essentially as a special teamer and depth piece for the Texans before returning to a starting role the next year, just to have his season ended after six games with a knee injury.

Murray rebounded well last year in Houston, starting 14 games while playing in all 17. That strong final campaign as a Texan helped Murray land a three-year, $22.5MM deal in Duval, and he was looking pretty good to start his first season with the Jaguars before going down with injury.

In Murray’s absence, Antonio Johnson has stepped into the starting lineup. Johnson’s seen plenty of playing time over his three years in Jacksonville, often coming off the bench and making 10 starts in 30 games played. He looked to be shaking off some rust in his first start of the season in place of Murray, but over the last four weeks, Johnson has looked like one of the Jaguars’ best players on defense.

Luckily for Johnson, he won’t likely be demoted immediately upon Murray’s return to the field. Fellow starting safety Andrew Wingard has been ruled out this weekend with a concussion, so Johnson may be lined up next to the man he replaced as the team hosts the division-rival Colts tomorrow. Even once Wingard is healthy, Jacksonville may need to work on finding packages that put all three safeties on the field if the three continue to play at a starting level.

In order to make room on the 53-man roster, the Jaguars waived reserve running back Cody Schrader, who failed to appear in any games after joining the roster in early-October. Additionally, the team announced that undrafted rookie safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig and wide receiver Austin Trammell will be called up tomorrow as standard gameday practice squad elevations. This is Silmon-Craig’s third such elevation, so if Jacksonville wants to see him in another game after this week, they’ll need to sign him to the 53-man roster.

Jaguars Open Eric Murray’s Practice Window

November 26th, 2025 at 10:29am CST by Connor Byrne

Jacksonville’s defense has gone without Eric Murray for over a month, but the starting safety appears to be nearing a return. The Jaguars opened his practice window on Wednesday. The AFC South contenders will have 21 days to activate Murray from IR.

Murray has already missed the minimum of four games since a neck issue forced him to the shelf on Oct. 31. He’s eligible to play this week against the Titans, but it’s unclear if that will happen.

After dividing the first nine seasons of his career among the Chiefs, Browns, and Texans, Murray joined the Jaguars last March on a three-year, $22.5MM deal. The 31-year-old opened his Jags tenure with seven straight starts before suffering his injury. He totaled 31 tackles, four passes defensed, and an interception during that stretch. Pro Football Focus rates his play a solid 42nd among 94 qualifying safeties.

With Murray unavailable over the past few weeks, the Jaguars have turned to Antonio Johnson as a starter alongside Andrew Wingard. Johnson has flashed as a playmaker with two interceptions and a pair of sacks, and PFF ranks his performance an impressive 14th among safeties.

It seems likely Johnson will continue to garner playing time even when Murray comes back, especially with Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile willing to use three safeties. The Jags deployed current No. 3 safety Rayuan Lane on a career-high 26 snaps in a win over the Cardinals in Week 12. The sixth-round rookie from Navy wasn’t targeted on 23 coverage snaps, per Jim Wyman of PFF.

Along with designating Murray to return, the Jaguars added more safety depth with the practice squad signing of Trevian Thomas on Wednesday. The undrafted rookie from Arkansas State was previously with the Panthers, who cut him on Tuesday. He appeared in one of the Panthers’ games this season and made one tackle on special teams.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/31/25

October 31st, 2025 at 8:26pm CST by Adam La Rose

Here are Friday’s only minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Jacksonville Jaguars

Pittsburgh Steelers

With replacement starting quarterback Joe Flacco still questionable to play this weekend as he deals with an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder, Clifford makes his way to the active roster to serve as the team’s third, emergency passer behind Flacco and backup Jake Browning.

AFC Contract Details: Garrett, Stingley, Broncos, Bills, Jaguars, Titans, Chargers

March 19th, 2025 at 1:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

Beginning with two record-setting deals, here are the latest contract details from the AFC:

  • Myles Garrett, DE (Browns). Four years, $160MM. Garrett’s $88.8MM full guarantee consists of a $21.54MM signing bonus, fully guaranteed base salaries in 2025 and ’26 and a fully guaranteed 2026 option bonus. Almost all of Garrett’s 2027 compensation is guaranteed as well, with Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio noting a $39.34MM option bonus shifts to a full guarantee no later than Day 3 of the 2026 league year. Garrett’s $21.41MM 2028 option bonus is guaranteed for injury and will shift to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2027 league year. Only $800K of Garrett’s $38MM 2029 base salary will be guaranteed a year out, however; Garrett’s $38MM 2030 base is nonguaranteed. The option bonuses and four void years will help keep Garrett’s cap numbers under $30MM until 2028.
  • Derek Stingley Jr., CB (Texans). Three years, $90MM. Of Stingley’s eye-popping $89MM guarantee, only $48MM is locked in at signing, Florio adds. Early protections, as in the Garrett contract, are included here as well. After fully guaranteed base salaries in 2025 and ’26, Stingley will see his $20MM 2027 base salary shift from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee in March 2026. That same structure is in place for 2027, with a $21MM salary moving from guaranteed for injury to fully guaranteed by March 2027. Stingley’s 2029 base is nonguaranteed.
  • D.J. Jones, DT (Broncos). Three years, $39MM. Jones fetched an impressive second Broncos contract. Before the team reunited him with 49ers teammates Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga, Jones scored a $26MM full guarantee, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. Two void years are in this Denver deal.
  • Dre Greenlaw, LB (Broncos): Three years, $31.5MM. This base value checks in a touch south of the initial reports as well. Of that sum, $11.5MM is fully guaranteed, per Spotrac. Another $2MM locks in on Day 5 of the 2026 league year, via OverTheCap, but Greenlaw’s injury trouble looks to have affected him on the market after all. A $3MM incentive package is present, and Denver can move on from the deal for less than $5MM in 2026 dead money.
  • Josh Palmer, WR (Bills). Three years, $29MM. This is south of the $36MM number initially reported. TD and yardage incentives cover $6MM, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan tweets. The ex-Charger will see $15MM fully guaranteed. Palmer’s 2025 salary is locked in, and $4.84MM of his $9.66MM 2026 base salary is as well. Another $3MM will convert from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 5 of the ’26 league year, per OverTheCap.
  • Cody Barton, LB (Titans). Three years, $21MM. The nomadic defender will see $13.3MM fully guaranteed, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Both Barton’s 2025 and ’26 salaries are guaranteed, with Wilson adding $1.5MM of his 2027 base is as well.
  • Robert Hainsey, C (Jaguars). Three years, $21MM. Hainsey will receive $10MM fully guaranteed, Wilson tweets. Of Hainsey’s $6.25MM 2026 base salary, $3MM is guaranteed at signing. The rest locks in if Hainsey is still a Jaguar by Day 5 of the 2026 league year.
  • Eric Murray, S (Jaguars). Three years, $19.5MM. This massive Murray raise from his Texans deals brings $10MM fully guaranteed, per OverTheCap. Murray will see $3.5MM of his 2026 base salary locked in, while Wilson adds the rest becomes guaranteed on Day 5 of the ’26 league year.
  • Marquise Brown, WR (Chiefs). One year, $6.85MM. This is down from the “up to” $11MM report, with Wilson indicating $6.5MM is guaranteed. After a season-marring injury, Brown takes a slight pay cut (after a $7MM 2024 deal).
  • Benjamin St-Juste, CB (Chargers). One year, $2.5MM. The Chargers are guaranteeing St-Juste $1MM, Wilson adds. This profiles as a flier on a four-year Washington regular, whose $1.5MM base salary is nonguaranteed.

Jaguars, S Eric Murray Agree To Deal; Team To Add WR Dyami Brown

March 10th, 2025 at 2:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars have used Monday to line up a pair of offensive additions, but they are also making moves on defense. Safety Eric Murray is joining Jacksonville.

Team and player have agreed to a three-year, $22.5MM deal, as first reported by NFL Network’s Maurice Jones-Drew. The contract includes $12MM in guarantees. After a five-year run in Houston, Murray will remain in the AFC South.

In addition to the Murray agreement, a deal is also in place with Dyami Brown. The former Commanders wideout is signing a one-year pact, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. Brown – whose rookie contract has expired – has secured a $10MM deal worth up to $12MM.

The Jaguars have made significant changes to their skill-position corps since Liam Coen arrived, cutting Evan Engram, Devin Duvernay and Josh Reynolds and trading Christian Kirk. Brown qualifies as a potential-over-production addition, as he has one season with more than 300 receiving yards — 308 in 2024. Washington did not see too much from the 2021 third-round pick, but Jacksonville will take what amounts to a semi-expensive flier.

Brown is heading into an age-26 season, and the Jags will certainly need to see more from him to justify this one-year payment. The team did not see its $13MM-per-year deal for Gabriel Davis amount to much last season, putting some pressure on the ex-Bills WR2 now that a new regime is running the show. Brown will step in as a complementary piece behind Davis and Brian Thomas Jr.

Murray has come back after multiple one-year contracts near the league minimum. This deal tops what the Texans gave him (three years, $18MM) back in 2020; the five-year Houston contributor — after playing for $2.5MM in 2023 and $1.75MM last season — has scored a massive raise. Murray did so despite going into an age-31 season. But as the Texans slid Jalen Pitre to the nickel spot, Murray moved into a starting role once again.

The former Chiefs fourth-rounder made 75 tackles and intercepted one pass during a season that produced a No. 54 overall safety grade from Pro Football Focus. The Jags lost Andre Cisco to the Jets on Monday; Murray’s contract will make him a clear candidate to replace him.

Adam La Rose contributed to this post

Texans Re-Sign S Eric Murray

March 9th, 2024 at 4:37pm CST by Ely Allen

Veteran safety Eric Murray will return to Houston for a fifth year with the Texans in 2024, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. The 29-year-old defensive back had previously signed a three-year contract and a two-year extension with the Texans and will now return on a one-year deal.

Murray started in the NFL as a fourth-round rookie out of Minnesota for the Chiefs. He was able to earn 11 starts in the first three seasons of his rookie contract but found himself getting traded to Cleveland (straight up for outside linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah) for the final year of his rookie deal. He started four of nine games played for the Browns before departing in free agency.

Houston was the team to sign Murray off the market, and he immediately stepped into the first full-time starting role of his career. Murray slowly lost his starting safety role until, in 2022, he didn’t start a single game as a fourth option at safety. When Jonathan Owens signed with the Packers, though, Murray earned a new opportunity to start in 2023. Unfortunately for Murray, that opportunity came to an end when a torn meniscus concluded his season.

After he finished the year on injured reserve, the Texans will give Murray another chance to carve out a role on the team. It will be difficult to carve out a starting role, as both Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward are set to return in 2024, but Murray can serve as a third safety or emergency starter in the case of injury.

Texans Place S Eric Murray On IR

October 18th, 2023 at 8:49pm CST by Ely Allen

The Texans saw a hit to their depth in the secondary this past weekend when primary backup safety Eric Murray suffered a torn meniscus in the team’s win over the Saints. The severity of the injury was confirmed by MRI on Monday, leading to Houston’s decision today to put Murray on injured reserve after undergoing knee surgery, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2.

Murray took a backseat in Houston last year after nearly two years as the team’s starting free safety. With Jalen Pitre and Jonathan Owens starting in the defensive outfield, Murray found himself coming off the bench and playing special teams. The Texans have replaced Owens with Jimmie Ward this year, but Murray has been able to increase his role a bit due to injuries. With Ward missing the first two games of the year and Pitre missing two himself, Murray has logged four starts as the team’s first choice off the bench.

Unfortunately, now Houston will see injury force Murray’s absence. Knee surgery is enough to force a long-term absence, hence Murray’s placement on IR. Fortunately for both sides, though, the Texans aren’t yet calling the injury season-ending, holding out hope that Murray may be able to return late in the year.

In the meantime, Ward and Pitre will continue to start. If anything were to keep either of them off the field, the Texans would need M.J. Stewart to step up. The veteran out of North Carolina has 10 starts in his career, including one this season, when both Pitre and Ward were out. Houston also has versatile defensive back Grayland Arnold, who has filled in some at cornerback this season, as well, due to an injury to Tavierre Thomas.

To fill Murray’s roster spot, the Texans called up cornerback D’Angelo Ross from the practice squad. Ross has played in two games so far this year, solely appearing on special teams. Ross’s spot on the practice squad will be filled by cornerback Alex Austin, who was waived from the team’s active roster earlier this week to make room for wide receiver Noah Brown coming off IR.

Restructure Details: Cousins, Bills, Cowboys, Saints, Warner, Jets, Texans

March 15th, 2023 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Facing a Kirk Cousins cap crunch last year, the Vikings worked out a third contract with their starting quarterback. They did not take that path this year. Minnesota instead agreed to a restructure, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The reworking frees up $16MM in cap space for the Vikings, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert tweets. The Vikes look to have tacked on two more void years to Cousins’ deal. While the void years — for cap-reducing purposes — run through 2027, Cousins’ contract expires after the 2023 season. No extension is imminent.

The 34-year-old passer has enjoyed leverage throughout his Vikings relationship — via his free agency in 2018, ahead of his 2020 contract year on that fully guaranteed deal, and in 2022 as his second Vikes pact was set to produce a historic cap hit — but Minnesota’s new regime may now be looking toward moving on after the season. This will be a situation to monitor moving forward; Cousins has not played in a contract year since his 2017 Washington finale.

Here is the latest on teams’ restructures:

  • The Bills moved close to the 2023 league year in a cap hole, but they restructured the deals of their two highest-profile players to create considerable space. Buffalo reworked Josh Allen and Von Miller‘s contracts to create approximately $32MM in space, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. The Bills have moved their way up past $8MM in cap room.
  • Per usual, the Saints have been hard at work on restructures. They adjusted the deals of Cameron Jordan, Alvin Kamara and Marshon Lattimore to create cap space, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Katherine Terrell (all Twitter links). The Jordan move created more than $10MM in cap space for New Orleans, which was back to being north of $20MM over the cap following its Derek Carr signing. As the league year begins, New Orleans made it under the cap by just more than $300K.
  • In addition to restructuring Tyron Smith‘s deal to ensure the All-Decade tackle plays a 13th season with the team, the Cowboys adjusted the contracts of DeMarcus Lawrence and Michael Gallup, Todd Archer of ESPN.com notes (Twitter links). Between them, the Lawrence and Gallup restructures freed up around $16MM for Dallas, which had already created more than $30MM in space by redoing Dak Prescott and Zack Martin‘s deals last week.
  • The 49ers restructured Fred Warner‘s extension, according to Yates (on Twitter). The move created nearly $9MM in cap space for San Francisco, which gave Javon Hargrave a four-year, $84MM deal to start the legal tampering period. A void year now exists in Warner’s contract, which runs through 2026 (with the void year coming in 2027). Warner’s cap number drops to $9MM but spikes past $24MM in 2024, which will probably prompt more maneuvering from the 49ers. They currently hold just more than $12MM in cap space.
  • Circling back to the Vikings, Jordan Hicks agreed to a restructure that will keep him in Minnesota this season, Insidethebirds.com’s Adam Caplan tweets. Hicks signed a two-year, $10MM deal with the Vikings last year.
  • Amid their Aaron Rodgers pursuit, the Jets created $4.8MM in cap space by restructuring John Franklin-Myers‘ contract, Yates tweets. Two void years are attached to the defensive lineman’s pact, which runs through 2025.
  • Texans safety Eric Murray agreed to a restructured deal as well, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes. Attached to a two-year, $10MM deal he signed in 2022, Murray remains on a Texans team that has seen its roster become crowded at safety. The team has added Jimmie Ward and re-signed M.J. Stewart this week. Murray played 17 games for the Texans last season but did not start any. This sounds like a pay-cut agreement, with Wilson adding Murray can make up to $4MM this season.

Texans Re-Sign DB M.J. Stewart

March 15th, 2023 at 4:49pm CST by Ben Levine

The Texans are bringing back a key special teamer. The team announced that they’ve re-signed defensive back M.J. Stewart. The 27-year-old is inking a two-year, $7.5MM deal, per Aaron Wilson of Click2Houston.com.

Stewart, a former second-round pick, had two-year stints with the Buccaneers and Browns before catching on with the Texans last offseason. He ended up getting into all 17 games for his new squad, compiling 41 tackles. Stewart also got into 84 percent of Houston’s special teams snaps.

It’s uncertain where Stewart will fit in the secondary heading into 2023. The Texans added Jimmie Ward on a two-year deal, and they’re also still rostering Jalen Pitre and Eric Murray. Either way, the Texans can expect Stewart to contribute on all ST plays.

Speaking of, Murray reworked his contract yesterday, per Wilson. The move provided the Texans with an extra $732K in cap space. The defensive back inked a two-year, $10MM contract with Houston last offseason.

Contract Details: Watt, Rams, Texans

September 8th, 2022 at 9:49pm CST by Ben Levine

With teams preparing their cap sheets for the start of the NFL season, we’ve seen a number of front offices rework some contracts. We’ve compiled some of the recent contract maneuverings (as well as some details on recent signings and extension) below:

  • T.J. Watt, LB (Steelers): restructured contract yesterday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The move opened $6.75MM in space for Pittsburgh. Watt inked a four-year deal worth up to $112MM (including $80MM guaranteed) last September.
  • Rob Havenstein, OT (Rams): three-year extension. The deal is worth $34.5MM, according to Rapoport (on Twitter). The extension includes $24.1MM guaranteed and offers $6MM in incentives.
  • Tyler Higbee, TE (Rams): restructured contract earlier this week, according to ESPN’s Field Yates (on Twitter). The team converted $4.75MM of Higbee’s base salary into a signing bonus, creating $3.8MM in space.
  • Jalen Thompson, S (Cardinals): three-year extension. The $40MM deal includes $24.5MM in guaranteed money and a $10MM signing bonus, according to Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com (on Twitter).
  • Lane Johnson, OT and Jake Elliott, K (Eagles): restructured contracts today, according to Yates (on Twitter). The Eagles converted $5.88MM of Johnson’s base salary and $2.715MM of Elliot’s base salary into signing bonuses, creating about $6.9MM in cap space.
  • O.J. Howard, TE (Texans): one-year deal. The contract is worth $1.035MM, according to Wilson (on Twitter). The tight end will receive $910K in offset from the $1.945MM guaranteed base salary he got from his previous deal with the Bills. When coupled with the $1.25MM signing bonus he got from Buffalo, Howard will earn a total of $3.25MM this year.
  • Eric Murray, S (Texans): restructured contract yesterday, per Yates (on Twitter). Specifically, the team converted $1.465MM of his contract into a signing bonus, opening $732.5K in cap space.
  • Ka’imi Fairbairn, K and Cameron Johnston, P (Texans): restructured contracts earlier this week, per Wilson (on Twitter). The two moves saved the Texans $2.1MM in cap savings.
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