Byron Murphy Jr. (born January 18, 1998) 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

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

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 ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Early years

Murphy attended

Saguaro High School Saguaro High School is a former A+ and Blue Ribbon Schools Program certified high school in the Scottsdale Unified School District in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States. Saguaro was opened in 1966. Sports Saguaro's varsity football progra ...

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

. He played cornerback and wide receiver. As a senior, he had 88 receptions for 1,733 yards and 21

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

on offense and 52 tackles and seven

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

on defense. Murphy committed to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

to play college football.

College career

After redshirting his first year at Washington in 2016, Murphy played in six games with six starts in 2017, missing seven due to injury. He finished the season with 16 tackles and three interceptions. He returned to Washington as a starter in 2018. He was awarded the MVP at the 2018 Pac-12 Football Championship Game after making two interceptions, one of which he returned for a 66-yard touchdown. On January 7, 2019, Murphy announced that he would forgo his remaining two years of eligibility and declare for 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 ...

College statistics

Professional career

Murphy was drafted by the

in the second round (33rd overall) of the

. In week 10 against 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 ...

, Murphy recorded his first career interception off

Jameis Winston Jameis Lanaed Winston ( ; born January 6, 1994) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State, where he became the youngest player to win the He ...

in the 30–27 loss. In Week 7 of the 2020 season against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

on ''Sunday Night Football'', Murphy recorded his first career sack on Russell Wilson during the 37–34 overtime win. He 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 team on November 2, 2020, and activated on November 11. Murphy entered the 2021 season as a starting cornerback for the Cardinals. In Week 3 of the 2021 season, he had two interceptions, including a 29-yard pick-six in a 31-19 win over the Jaguars, earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week. He finished the season with 64 tackles and a team-leading 12 passes defensed and four interceptions. Murphy returned as a starting cornerback for the Cardinals in 2022. In Week 2, he returned a fumble forced by Isaiah Simmons 59 yards for the game-winning touchdown in a 29-23 overtime win against the Raiders. He finished the season with 36 tackles, four passes defensed, and two fumble recoveries through nine starts.

References

External links

Sports Reference (college)Arizona Cardinals bioWashington Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Byron 1998 births Living people African-American players of American football Players of American football from Scottsdale, Arizona American football cornerbacks Washington Huskies football players Arizona Cardinals players 21st-century African-American sportspeople