Eric Murray (born January 7, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, and was selected by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

in the fourth round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. He has also played for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

2016

The

selected Murray in the fourth round (106th overall) of the

. He was the 17th cornerback drafted and the second cornerback selected by the Chiefs after third round pick

KeiVarae Russell KeiVarae Russell (born October 19, 1993) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. High school career Ru ...

. On May 17, 2016, the Chiefs signed Murray to a four-year, $2.96 million

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $599,803. Entering organized team activities, Murray was expected to compete for a job as the starting cornerback against

Steven Nelson Steven Nelson (born January 22, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon State, and was drafted in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the K ...

Marcus Cooper Marcus Cooper Sr. (born February 1, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football for Rutgers University. Cooper has also ...

Phillip Gaines Phillip Gaines (born April 4, 1991) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Rice Owls football, Rice. High school c ...

, and

D. J. White Dewayne "D. J." White, Jr. (born August 31, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player, who was selected in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. Standing at , he played the power forward position. He spent the majority of his c ...

after it was left vacant by the departure of Sean Smith to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in free agency. During rookie minicamp, defensive coordinator

Bob Sutton Robert Sutton may refer to: Politicians *Robert Sutton (died 1414), MP for Lincoln * Robert Sutton (MP for Derby), see Derby * Robert Dudley alias Sutton (died 1539), MP *Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexinton (1594–1668), Member of Parliament for No ...

decided to try Murray at safety and opted to keep him at safety due to the retirement of Husain Abdullah, departure of

Tyvon Branch Tyvon A. Branch (born December 11, 1986) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round (100th overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft and has also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals ...

in free agency, and an injury to

Eric Berry James Eric Berry (born December 29, 1988) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, where he was a two-time unanimous All-American and recog ...

. Throughout training camp, he competed for the job at safety against

Jamell Fleming Jamell Fleming (born May 5, 1989) is a former American football cornerback in the National Football League. Originally drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft, he also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the ...

Stevie Brown Stevie Christopher Brown (born July 17, 1987) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, where he started at sa ...

, Daniel Sorensen, Ron Parker,

Akeem Davis Akeem Davis (born December 25, 1989) is a former American football safety that played in National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Memphis, and signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Davis has ...

, and Shakiel Randolph. Head coach Andy Reid named Murray the backup free safety behind Ron Parker to start the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Kansas City Chiefs' season-opener against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

and recorded his first career tackle during a 33–27 overtime victory. On December 25, 2016, Murray made a season-high two solo tackles in the Chiefs' 33–10 victory against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. He finished his rookie season with eight solo tackles and a fumble recovery in 16 games and zero starts. Throughout the season, he was limited mostly to special teams and had only 67 snaps on defense. He tied with Daniel Sorensen for the team lead with 367 special teams snaps that accounted for 82% of them. The Kansas City Chiefs finished first in the

AFC West The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las ...

with a 12–4 record, clinching a first round bye and home field advantage. On January 15, 2017, Murray appeared in his first career playoff game and made one tackle during their 18–16 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the AFC Divisional Round.

2017

During OTA's and training camp, Murray competed for a job as a backup safety against Daniel Sorensen, Leon McQuay III,

Marqueston Huff Marqueston Devonte Huff (born April 6, 1992), also known by his nickname "Quest", is a former American football safety. He played college football at Wyoming and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He ...

, and Jordan Stern. Defensive coordinator

named him the backup free safety, behind Ron Parker, to start the regular season. Starting strong safety Eric Berry tore his Achilles tendon in the Chiefs' season-opening 42–27 victory at the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and was expected to miss the rest of the season. Murray was elevated to the Chiefs' premier backup safety role, participating in nickel and dime packages. On September 17, 2017, Murray recorded a season-high six solo tackles and two pass deflections in a 27–20 victory against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. In Week 5, he earned his first career start and recorded two combined tackles during a 42–24 victory at the

. On November 26, 2017, Murray made one tackle before leaving the Chiefs' 16-10 loss to the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

in the second quarter after sustaining an injury. He missed the next two games (Weeks 13–14) due to a high-ankle sprain and had Darrelle Revis fill in during his absence. In Week 15, Murray made three solo tackles and his first career sack on quarterback Philip Rivers in the Chiefs' 30–23 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers. On December 31, 2017, he earned his second career start after the Chiefs clinched a playoff berth and head coach Andy Reid opted to rest Daniel Sorensen and Ron Parker. Murray made two solo tackles in their 27–24 victory at the

. He finished the season with 36 combined tackles (31 solo), five pass deflections, and a sack in 14 games and two starts. The Chiefs received a playoff berth, but lost to the Tennessee Titans 22–21 in the AFC Wildcard Game. Murray made one tackle during their loss.

Cleveland Browns

Murray was traded to the

on April 1, 2019 in exchange for

Emmanuel Ogbah Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogbah (born November 6, 1993) is a Nigerian professional American football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma State, and was drafted by the Clevel ...

Houston Texans

On April 1, 2020, Murray signed a three-year, $20.25 million contract with the

. In Week 14 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, Murray led the team with 11 tackles and sacked

Mitchell Trubisky Mitchell David Trubisky (born August 20, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina and was drafted second overall by the Chicago ...

twice during the 36–7 loss. Murray was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the Texans on December 27, 2020, and activated on January 13, 2021. On March 16, 2022, Murray signed a two-year, $10 million contract extension with the Texans. On October 18, 2023, Murray was placed on injured reserve.

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Houston Texans bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Eric 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Milwaukee American football cornerbacks Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Kansas City Chiefs players Cleveland Browns players Houston Texans players