Heading into Sunday’s game against thew New York Jets, Buffalo Bills defensive end Trent Murphy had three sacks on the season. That would have been the lowest total since his rookie season, but the veteran had other ideas.
On Sunday, Murphy took down Jets quarterback Sam Darnold twice to raise his season sack total to five. That also earned Murphy a $350,000 bonus according to Tim Graham of The Athletic. This is an incentive built into his contract.
Murphy totaled four sacks in 2018.
It’s only the second two-sack day of his career and first as a member of the Bills. Murphy received extended playing time thanks to an injury to Shaq Lawson and extra rest given to Jerry Hughes. He played 72% of the defensive snaps, the third-highest percentage on the year.
While Murphy hasn’t reached the lofty expectations of Bills fans following his signing as a free agent, he’s been steady and a good “process” guy in the locker room and weight room. With Lawson hitting the free-agent market, it wouldn’t surprise us if Murphy is back next year even with a salary of $6 million and a cap hit approaching $9 million.