Bengals rookie quickly receives a 'welcome to the NFL moment' in Cincinnati
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Clemson Tigers defensive end Myles Murphy with the No. 28 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. Murphy is expected to help the Bengals' pass rush improve after totaling 17.5 sacks and 37 tackles for loss in 38 career games for the Tigers. The former Clemson standout should fit in well […]
The Cincinnati Bengals selected Clemson Tigers defensive end Myles Murphy with the No. 28 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Murphy is expected to help the Bengals' pass rush improve after totaling 17.5 sacks and 37 tackles for loss in 38 career games for the Tigers.
The former Clemson standout should fit in well with the Bengals, though he likely won't be wearing the same No. 98 that he sported in college.
Bengals veteran defensive tackle DJ Reader, who also played college football at Clemson, currently wears No. 98 for the Bengals. And Reader made it clear this week that he won't be freely giving up his number to the rookie.
"Sucks for him," said a smirking Reader. "I can always be bought out man. But right now, that number might be too steep, he might not want to pay that price. If he wants to pay that price, he can come holler at me. I'll just tell him to write a number on a piece of paper, slide it to me, I'll tell him whether it's good or not."
"I don't set the price, I'll just sit there and see what he offers," added Reader. "We'll figure it out, but it'll be high…When he got picked I was like that's rough, it's really rough. If I could wear 48 I would go back, but I can't. I'm stuck with limited numbers, so he's gonna have to figure it out."
Welcome to the NFL, Myles Muprhy. If the rookie pass rusher wants his old number, it sounds like he's going to have to pay handsomely for it. Murphy might have been a star at Clemson, but it's clear he'll have to earn his stripes in Cincinnati.
