Sources: Redskins edge rusher Trent Murphy signs with Buffalo Bills

Once rumored to be interested in three teams, Trent Murphy ended up choosing none of them to join the Buffalo Bills. Now, the Redskins have lost a potential primary backup at the pass rusher position.

Over the past few days, the odds of a Trent Murphy return to the Washington Redskins seemed tenuous at best. With as many as 10 teams interested in his services, it seemed probably that Murphy would get a chance to start somewhere. The Redskins, already having Ryan Kerrigan and Preston Smith, were in no position to offer him a chance to start.

On Wednesday, it was reported that Murphy was deciding between three teams. They were the Patriots, the Buccaneers, and the Redskins. However, as so often is the case in free agency, Murphy ended up being scooped up by a dark horse team with pass rushing needs of their own.

Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Murphy is expected to sign a deal with the Buffalo Bills. Rapoport is also reporting that Murphy’s deal with be worth up to $30 million over three years with the Bills. However, Adam Schefter later reported the number would be $21 million over the three years, and that appears to be the correct number. This is a surprising sum for Murphy, though the guaranteed money is not yet known, but it’s certainly one that he could live up to.

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In 2016, Murphy had a career year, logging nine sacks and serving as one of the most consistent defenders on the Redskins team. He used his physicality, strength, and motor to beat opposing tackles, and he has the versatility to play the defensive end position in a 3-4 if needed. The Bills will be getting a solid player who should help them on defense.

With the Bills, it’s unclear what type of role Murphy will have off the bat. The team runs a 4-3 defense, so it stands to reason that Murphy will start at defensive end. That said, it would require the team to move either Shaq Lawson or Jerry Hughes into a rotational role. Perhaps the team is planning another move with one of these players, as neither were chosen by current head coach Sean McDermott. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening, but it appears that Murphy will be a key player for them.

As for the Redskins, they simply couldn’t retain Murphy at that price. The $7 million in average annual value is too much to give a backup player. Even if the guarantees aren’t high, the Redskins wouldn’t have been able to convince him to stay for less money and what is likely a lesser role. So while Murphy will be missed, there wasn’t much the team could have done about his departure.

With Murphy gone, the Redskins should shift their focus to re-signing Junior Galette. He was a nice No. 3 option for the team last year, and getting him on another deal would set the team up for success at the edge position in 2018. That said, it’s unclear what Galette’s market value will be. He has a longer injury history than Murphy, but he was a quality backup last year. Galette also may want a chance to start, so that will complicate things.

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Overall, losing Murphy is a bit of a blow, but the Redskins couldn’t afford to keep him. For that reason, his departure makes sense. It will be interesting to see how the team chooses to attack that position with Murphy no longer in the fold as a potential option.

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