Tag: Eric Murray

Watch: Texans safety Eric Murray records massive sack vs. Jaguars

Houston Texans safety Eric Murray brought down Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence on third down to get the defense off the field.

Houston Texans head coach and defensive play-caller DeMeco Ryans had brought the heat on third down all afternoon against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Safety Eric Murray rewarded him with his first sack of the season to get the defense off the field.

Murray came virtually untouched off the left side as Houston had more pass rushers than Jacksonville blockers, dropping Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence for a 14-yard loss.

https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans/status/1840464853300863397 

Houston tried a similar blitz on the previous third down, but Lawrence was able to connect with rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for the conversion.

Thomas drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that deducted 15 yards to make it a net gain of four yards.

The sack was the first of the game for the Texans, which entered the contest with the third-most sacks after three games.

It was also Murray’s first sack of the season and his first since the 2020 season.

Murray, who was losing snaps to rookie Calen Bullock, has seen extended time on the field in the absence of veteran Jimmie Ward.

Eric Murray’s Texans contract structured around playing time

Contract details emerged for veteran DB Eric Murray, who inked a one-year deal with the Texans that revolves around his playing time.

Defensive back Eric Murray is returning to the Houston Texans for a fifth season.

He and the team agreed to a one-year, $1.75 million, according to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson The contract also includes $425,000 in guaranteed money.

 

The agreed-upon contract is heavily structured toward playing time. Murray receives $11,765 for every game he plays on the active roster and has a $350,000 playtime incentive written into the deal. 

Murray, 30, finished 2023 with 13 tackles and one forced fumble. He started the season’s first four games before suffering a season-ending knee injury against the New Orleans Saints. Murray would finish the year on injured reserve.

In 2020 and 2021, Murray was the primary starter at free safety, appearing in 30 games across two seasons. Murray moved into a depth role in 2022 and contributed to special teams. The expectation is for Murray to continue in this role in 2024. 

Before arriving in Houston, Murray played for Kansas City and Cleveland. He was a fourth-round pick and will now play into his 30s, a milestone few mid-round picks reach.

Murray is one of the few Houston players to survive multiple head coaching changes, a clear sign that the front office values his presence. He joins a defensive back room composed of Derek Stingley Jr., Jimmie Ward, and Jalen Pitre, along with re-signees Kris Boyd, Desmond King, and Lonnie Johnson, who agreed to a one-year deal to return to the team. 

Texans reportedly re-sign S Eric Murray

Houston Texans safety Eric Murray played in just six games in 2023 before he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

The Houston Texans kept a veteran depth piece of their secondary ahead of free agency.

Safety Eric Murray and the team agreed to a new contract, according to KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson. The terms of the deal later revealed Murray could make $1.75 million.

Murray, 30, played in just six games this past season after he was placed on injured reserve with a knee injury during a Week 6 win over the New Orleans Saints. He tallied 13 combined tackles during his defensive snaps and also played some special teams.

Murray joined Houston in 2020 after stints with the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. He has 311 career tackles, two career interceptions and 14 career defended passes.

He’s the most recent in-house free agent to re-sign with Houston after tight end Dalton Schultz and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn also remained with the Texans.

Texans S Eric Murray questionable to return against Saints

Houston Texans safety Eric Murray is questionable to return against the New Orleans Saints with a knee injury.

The Houston Texans will have to adjust their personnel in the secondary as they work their way through Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints.

The Texans announced safety Eric Murray is questionable to return to the action inside NRG Stadium. The 29-year-old is dealing with a knee injury that knocked him out of the first quarter with 2:26 to go.

Murray had not accumulated any stats at that point in the game.

The Texans have used more of M.J. Anderson in place of Murray.

Murray has 15 combined tackles and a forced fumble for the Texans through five games this season, three of which he has started.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=601914802]

Texans S Eric Murray out against Colts with concussion

Houston Texans safety Eric Murray is questionable to return against the Indianapolis Colts as he is being evaluated for a concussion.

The Houston Texans are being tested at a position that is already taking on attrition.

The team announced Sunday afternoon safety Eric Murray is begin evaluated for a concussion and is questionable to return against the Indianapolis Colts.

Houston already entered the contest down their two starting safeties in Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward. Pitre was nixed due to a bruised lung from Week 1 while Ward had a hip injury that prevented him from playing on Opening Day.

The Texans have been giving more snaps to Grayland Arnold as the defense looks for ways to plug yet another hole on the backend.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=1365]

Texans DC Matt Burke confident in safety depth

Houston Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke is not concerned about the depth questions surrounding the safeties group heading into Week 2.

One of the more optimistic position groups for the Houston Texans heading into 2023 was their safeties. With 10-year veteran Jimmie Ward, who had the past two years with DeMeco Ryans as his defensive coordinator with the San Francisco 49ers, joining forces with second-year standout Jalen Pitre, the expectation was Houston had their backend locked down.

Ward missed Week 1 with a hip injury, and Pitre was knocked out halfway through the 25-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens with a bruised lung. With Houston set to host the Indianapolis Colts for Week 2 in the NRG Stadium opener, chances are neither Ward nor Pitre will be ready to go.

Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke nevertheless remains confident in his safeties, especially after their resilience against the Ravens.

“Yeah, I thought they did a great job,” Burke told reporters Sept. 14. “Honestly the question in here last week I think about that group, and I said I thought that was our best unit and most prepared and had the most depth and I think it showed.”

Eric Murray played 64 defensive snaps, representing all of Houston’s plays, and generated four combined tackles. M.J. Stewart, who filled in for Pitre, played 35 snaps and had five combined tackles and a fumble recovery.

I don’t think we missed a beat with either of those guys playing and we felt confident in that — the players feel confident in those guys going out there,” said Burke. “That didn’t affect us at all. I don’t think we blinked.”

The Texans may have to roll with Murray and Stewart against the Colts, and Burke and the coaching staff appear to believe their defensive backs won’t blink.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=601914802]

DeMeco Ryans pleased with Texans’ run defense against the Saints

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was pleased with how the run defense responded against the New Orleans Saints.

One area that was particularly concerning from the Houston Texans’ 28-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins in the second week of preseason was their anemic run defense.

The Texans gave up 205 rushing yards, which was more than their 170.2 rushing yards per game from a season ago with a different coaching staff deploying an outdated scheme. Things were supposed to change under new coach DeMeco Ryans, not stay the same.

Houston may still have work to do with their run defense to complete the turnaround, but there was an optimistic step against the New Orleans Saints Aug. 27 in the 17-13 win.

The Texans held the Saints to 91 yards on the ground. No New Orleans ball carrier crested the 35-yard mark.

While keeping teams under the century mark each week may be unrealistic, hitting the target in the last preseason contest was a fitting conclusion.

“To start the game, I thought that our run defense was really good,” Ryans told reporters from the Caesars Superdome. “I thought that the challenge on defense this week was to set edges, to swarm, and to tackle. I think that we did that defensively. We only let one get out with the quarterback, but I am proud of how our guys responded this week to the run defense.”

With 9:14 to go in the third quarter, rookie quarterback Jake Haener scrambled for 26 yards to the Houston 29-yard line, which eventually setup for a Saints field goal to pull within four.

However, the effects from missing expectations against the Dolphins a week ago fueled the drive to demonstrate improvement.

Said Ryans: “We had a bad taste in our mouth last week. That’s not the type of run defense that we expect to play, so, I am happy with how they responded this week.”

Houston kicks off the regular season Sept. 10 at the Baltimore Ravens at 12:00 p.m. Central Time.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=1365]

Breaking down Texans S Eric Murray and his restructured contract

The Houston Texans restructured their contract with safety Eric Murray. Here is a look at the details.

The Houston Texans carved out some salary cap space with the restructuring of safety Eric Murray’s contract.

Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV was able to obtain the details of the restructured contract.

Murray’s salary cap hit goes from $5.357 million in 2023 to $3.887 million. The Texans gave Murray a $650,000 signing bonus.

Murray has a $1.6 million base salary with $1.476 million guaranteed. The 29-year-old gets up to $250,000 per game in active roster bonuses along with an additional $1.5 million in playtime incentives with a $2.5 million base value.

The former Kansas City Chiefs 2018 fourth-round pick had 27 combined tackles through 17 games last season. Murray saw his snaps shift from defense to special teams — 119 to 403 — due to the rise of second-round rookie Jalen Pitre.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=601916238]

Texans restructuring the contract for safety Eric Murray, clearing over $700K in salary cap space

The Houston Texans are restructuring the contract for safety Eric Murray to clear over $700,000 in salary cap space.

NFL contracts have triggers in them that teams can flip to create salary cap space, and that is precisely what general manager Nick Caserio did to give the Houston Texans a little more breathing room.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans restructured the contract for safety Eric Murray, providing $732,500 in salary cap space.

What the Texans did was give Murray a $1.465 million signing bonus in order to create the space.

Houston originally signed Murray to a two-year, $10 million contract at the beginning of last free agency.

The rise of second-round rookie Jalen Pitre cut into Murray’s playing time. The 29-year-old played all 17 games for Houston, and delivered 27 combined tackles. However, his snaps were lopsided in favor of special teams: 403 to 119 on defense.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=601916238]

Why S Eric Murray could be the Houston Texans’ salary cap casualty

The Houston Texans may say goodbye to safety Eric Murray as they look to save salary cap space.

The Houston Texans have the fourth-most salary cap space in the NFL heading into the 2023 offseason. With over $37.1 million in space available, the Texans have plenty of capital to sign free agents or keep veterans they like.

However, general manager Nick Caserio doesn’t want to waste the McNair’s money on players who aren’t maximizing their contracts. Decisions will have to be made ahead of free agency.

According to Michael Renner from Pro Football Focus, one salary cap casualty on the Texans’ roster could be safety Eric Murray.

Murray’s status as a key special teams contributor may keep him around, especially with general manager Nick Caserio coming from a New England Patriots organization that put more emphasis on retaining quality special teamers than perhaps anywhere else.

That said, Murray logged just 118 snaps on defense amid the emergence of young contributors like second-round pick Jalen Pitre, so a pay cut may be required to stay in Houston.

Murray would cost the Texans $1,357,500 in dead money against the salary cap, but would save the Texans $4 million in salary cap space.

The former Kansas City Chiefs 2016 fourth-round pick generated 27 combined tackles through 17 games for Houston.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=601916344]