The 2023 season is just a month away, and with weeks of dead time during the quietest part of the NFL offseason, Chargers Wire is endeavoring to document each of Los Angeles’ players before the start of the team’s training camp.
Kenneth Murray, the former first-round pick, is entering the final year of his rookie deal after the Chargers chose not to exercise his fifth-year option.
Murray is a player who has struggled to live up to his draft status so far, as he has failed to make much of an impact defensively, and he was limited by an ankle injury in 2021.
Murray’s coming off a season in which he made 16 starts, recording 76 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and one forced fumble.
Murray enters the 2023 season set to start alongside veteran Eric Kendricks. The Chargers are hoping Murray can take a step forward, otherwise, he could be replaced by rookie Daiyan Henley.
Contract (2023): $610,000 base salary, $1,749,081 prorated bonus, $2,359,081 cap hit.
Acquired: Murray was drafted by the Chargers with the 23rd overall selection in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Quote: On how his role on the edge impacts Brandon Staley’s scheme:
“Being on the edge is simple. A majority of the time, I’m either outside defender or I’m playing the run. There aren’t as many responsibilities as it is at inside backer. It’s being able to see a bunch of different things. I feel like being on the edge allowed me to get to the quarterback more, which is something I want to do more. It allowed me to be more disruptive and cause havoc. That’s what I want to do; whether it’s at inside linebacker or at the edge position — just being able to come in and cause havoc.”
Highlight:
Confident, downhill trigger from Chargers LB Kenneth Murray. pic.twitter.com/8Akkat566T
— Gavino Borquez (@GavinoBorquez) November 14, 2022