Sean Murphy-Bunting (formerly Bunting, born June 19, 1997) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

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 ...

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corre ...

Early years

Murphy-Bunting attended and played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Chippewa Valley High School Chippewa Valley High School is a public, magnet high school located in Clinton Township, Michigan, United States. It serves grades 9–12 for the Chippewa Valley Schools. Demographics The demographic breakdown of the 2,431 students enrolled f ...

College career

Murphy-Bunting played three seasons for the Chippewas, starting his sophomore and junior seasons. As a sophomore, he recorded five interceptions, which finished second in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

. As a junior, Murphy-Bunting recorded 37 tackles and two interceptions and was named first team All-

(MAC). He decided to forgo his final year of eligibility to enter the 2019 NFL Draft.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Murphy-Bunting was selected by the

in the second round with the 39th overall pick in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

2019 season

In Week 5 against the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

, Murphy-Bunting recorded his first career interception off

Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school. Br ...

in the 31–24 loss. In Week 13, during a 28–11 win against the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

, Murphy-Bunting recorded a critical fourth quarter interception off of fellow rookie

Gardner Minshew Gardner Flint Minshew II (born May 16, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He began his college football career at Northwest Mississippi, winning the NJCAA National Footba ...

in the Buccaneers's end zone to prevent a potential score. In Week 15, during a 38–17 win against the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

, Murphy-Bunting had a team-leading eight tackles, one pass deflection, and an interception off of fellow rookie

David Blough David Marshall Blough (born July 31, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was Purdue's backup quarterback in 2015 and led the Boilermakers to a win against Nebraska. As a r ...

which he returned 70 yards for his first career touchdown. In Week 16, during a 23–20 loss to 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 ...

, Murphy-Bunting had four tackles, one pass deflection, and his first career sack on

Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) 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 ...

which resulted in a fumble. Murphy-Bunting finished his rookie season with 44 tackles, one sack, eight pass deflections, three interceptions, one interception return touchdown, and one forced fumble.

2020 season

In Week 8 against the

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

on ''Monday Night Football'', Murphy–Bunting recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Daniel Jones during the 25–23 win. Overall, he finished the 2020 season with 70 total tackles, one interception, two passes defended, one fumble, and one fumble recovery in 16 games. In the Wild Card Round of the playoffs against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

, Murphy-Bunting intercepted a pass thrown by

Taylor Heinicke Taylor Heinicke ( ; born March 15, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Old Dominion and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted f ...

during the 31–23 win. In the Divisional Round against the

, Murphy-Bunting intercepted a pass thrown by

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is the NFL leader in ...

during the 30–20 win. In the NFC Championship against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

, Murphy-Bunting recorded six total tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass thrown by

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...

as the Buccaneers defeated the Packers 31–26 to advance to

Super Bowl LV Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Conferen ...

, where they defeated 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 ...

31–9, to give Murphy-Bunting his first Super Bowl championship. With this playoff run, Murphy-Bunting became the first player with an interception in each of his first three career playoff games since Hall of Famer

Ed Reed Edward Earl Reed Jr. (born September 11, 1978) is an American former football safety in the National Football League (NFL), spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes, wher ...

2021 season

On September 13, 2021, Murphy-Bunting was placed on injured reserve after suffering a dislocated elbow in the first quarter of a 31-29 win over the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the opener. He was activated on November 22.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bio

Central Michigan Chippewas bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy-Bunting, Sean 1997 births Living people African-American players of American football American football cornerbacks Central Michigan Chippewas football players Players of American football from Michigan People from Macomb County, Michigan Sportspeople from Metro Detroit Tampa Bay Buccaneers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople