Bengals pass on Myles Murphy's fifth-year option but aim for a long-term deal, banking on his breakout Year Three potential.
The Cincinnati Bengals have declined the fifth-year option on defensive end Myles Murphy, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. However, the decision does not signal an end to the relationship as the Bengals have confirmed they remain hopeful of working out a long-term deal with their 2023 first-round pick.
The move comes just days after Duke Tobin addressed Murphy’s situation:
“He’s a 24-year-old guy that’s just starting to scratch the surface,” Tobin said. “I was pleased with his progression last year and how he took ownership of the starting role and how he grew throughout the season. By the end of the year, he was a problem for teams.”
Murphy’s fifth-year option would have carried a $14.5 million salary for 2027, the lowest tier available for edge rushers. With the Bengals already carrying significant cap commitments from the Dexter Lawrence trade and a series of high-value free agency signings, the front office opted to explore a long-term extension at a potentially lower number rather than lock into the option figure.
Murphy’s path to this moment in Cincinnati has been anything but smooth. Selected 28th overall out of Clemson in the 2023 NFL Draft, he played in 30 games across his first two seasons without making a single start. He accumulated just three sacks, 40 tackles, and four tackles for loss that year. But a training camp knee injury wiped out the first four weeks of his 2024 season, and he finished the year sackless across 13 games.
His performance that season intensified questions about his long-term viability as a first-round investment. But Year three changed the conversation entirely.
Murphy played all 17 regular-season games in 2025 for the first time in his career. He started 10 games and posted career highs across every meaningful category: 52 tackles, 5.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, three passes defensed, and a fumble recovery.
PFF credited him with 41 total pressures on the season, including six sacks, 31 hurries, and four hits, earning a 64.2 overall defensive grade. His production was a genuine step forward, even if the grade signaled a player still developing rather than one who had fully established himself.
The hope inside the Bengals building is that Lawrence’s presence in the middle of the defensive line will create cleaner one-on-one opportunities for Murphy on the outside. It’s expected to be the kind of operating conditions that could push him from a 5.5-sack player toward a double-digit producer.
Murphy is expected to line up alongside Boye Mafe as part of a four-man edge rotation that includes Shemar Stewart and newly drafted Cashius Howell. That group now has legitimate depth for the first time since Trey Hendrickson was anchoring the unit.
Murphy is entering the final year of his four-year rookie contract in 2026. Declining the option keeps both sides at the negotiating table without the Bengals committing $14.5 million to a player whose market value may ultimately land either above or below that figure.
If he replicates or exceeds his 2025 production in a defense with significantly more talent around him, that long-term deal gets done. If he regresses, the Bengals’ latest decision puts the leverage squarely where the front office wants it: on Murphy to perform.