NFL writer has a bleak message regarding Bengals’ prime make-or-break player for Cincinnati’s 2026 season
Everything’s on the table for Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy. NFL.com’s Nick Shook believes this all-important year will lead him to leaving the Queen City.
Everything’s on the table for Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy.
Murphy is now entering a contract season after the Bengals declined to exercise his fifth-year option. The move would’ve locked in the former first-round pick for the 2027 season at a price of $14.475 million in guaranteed money. Instead, the 24-year old could be playing for a much larger pay day next season.
The odds of that pay day coming in Cincinnati, however, dropped following the fifth-year option deadline three weeks ago.
Myles Murphy’s future comes into question by NFL writer
The good news for Murphy, and the Bengals, is playing out a contract year has a good chance of motivating Murphy into producing his best season as a pro.
The bad news is it could lead to his leaving Cincinnati for another club looking to entice him with a lucrative contract.
NFL.com’s Nick Shook writes Murphy, whom he picked as a “make-or-break” player this season, is more likely to move on next year.
This is where Murphy needs to strike. The former Clemson standout didn’t see any starts until the 2025 season, racking up 10 of them in 17 games played. He logged a career-best 52 tackles (six for loss) and 5.5 sacks, offering a glimpse of what could be moving forward. Murphy’s Year 3 jump in production wasn’t enough to convince the Bengals to pick up his fifth-year option, making for a natural prove-it season in a contract year. As it stands now, his future probably isn’t in Cincinnati, unless his rate of compensation fits nicely into the Bengals’ bigger financial picture. But he will sign a second contract somewhere, and now is the time to earn that money.
Nick Shook
Around The NFL Writer
Bengals need a perfect storm to retain Murphy
Cincinnati has already sent a message to Murphy. Not that it doesn’t value him in the short or long-term, but the price to keep him on the roster next year was not one it was willing to pay a year ahead of time. Murphy did say he has hopes for staying with the Bengals long-term.
“Very hopeful,” Murphy told Andrew Fox Miller of Cincinnati Bengals Talk earlier this month. “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.”
There’s the old adage that an NFL team can’t pay every one of its good players. The salary cap can be manipulated, but not infinitely. The Bengals are notoriously subpar at making the cap work for them instead of the other way around.
Murphy playing well enough in 2026 to earn a major second contract would all but seal his fate. If not even $15 million in cap and cash was too much for Cincy to stomach, a much higher price isn’t likely to intrigue them.
The Bengals will want Murphy to remain affordable (to their standards) while also being worth extending for multiple years. They’d want a scenario in which his market won’t be so hot, and he’d accept their style of offer instead of a deal from a more desperate club.
The simpler solution
Cincinnati shouldn’t let Murphy start this season without accepting a multi-year extension. If he’s in the plans beyond 2026, then hammer out the contract now. Don’t let him enhance his value to 31 other teams. Pass rushers go quickly and end up very expensive 0n the open market.
Signing a deal before the season, of course, would no longer make Murphy a “make-or-break” name entering the fall. It would ensure the Bengals keep a starter locked in for the next few years at a price they’re comfortable with.
Finding that price is easier said than done, which is why exercising the fifth-year option was the expectation. This is tricky situation Cincy finds itself in now, and for Murphy, the opportunity in front of him is as intriguing as can be.