Louis Murphy “Cutting Hard”
August 29th, 2016
Good news has emerged on wide receiver Louis Murphy, who is now 9 1/2 months removed from ACL surgery.
Eagle eye Rick Brown, the former Lakeland Ledger Bucs beat writer who now works for Today’s Pigskin, saw Murphy rehabilitating today on the practice fields of One Buc Palace. He shared on Twitter.
@rickbrown91 – It was good seeing
#Bucs WR Louis Murphy running and cutting hard on an adjacent field. Still on PUP but appears to be getting closer.
When Joe spoke to Murphy in Jacksonville, the veteran wideout was confident he would return this season and said he was still on track for a traditional 10- to 12-month recovery.
Murphy is no star, but Joe sure would sleep better at night knowing Murphy is coming back at midseason.
Donteea Dye, Russell Shepard and Bernard Reedy don’t soothe Joe.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:00 pm
Idk Joe. Every time we talk about him, I roll my eyes. Average (at best) receiver and now with a bum knee? Obviously I’m rooting for the guy, but I think I’m being realistic when I don’t expect much from him if/when he comes back.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:02 pm
I would sleep better at night knowing if J.R. Sweezy is coming back at midseason.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:03 pm
Nfl draft 2017 for the Bucs – Wr, Safety, Te!!!!!!
August 29th, 2016 at 3:03 pm
Hopefully Murphy can get healthy this year and contribute. We could use him.
Cue tmax with the unsupportive “he’s a career BUM” talk in 3,2,1….
August 29th, 2016 at 3:13 pm
Agreed Joe! He’s no superstar, but he’s head and shoulders better than the next three.
Dang it Pickgrin, you beat me to it! How ’bout it tmax? Where you at?!
August 29th, 2016 at 3:17 pm
We will be drafting another good sized receiver high next year, there should be no doubt. Hopefully VJax will still be playing and mentoring the new guys then.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:26 pm
No matter how hard Murphy cuts..He’s about done. Stick a fork in’em! IF..he’s smart, He’ll take his healing and move on. Or become like a soon to be Dallas
exQB..who keeps on rehabbing, and getting up. One day? when he tries to get up..it won’t happen. Not smart at all.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:26 pm
Kourtney Brown, Luke Rhodes and Adraius Glanton don’t soothe Sac. We need Channing Ward, Lambert, Awe and Elliot on the PS at least. Luke Stocker Golston and Spence didn’t pan out in the years it takes to develop into good players cut them now the new blood can replace them. Plus with all the talent being released after cuts we can sure up our depth in a real way. Jason pull out the hockey mask and start cutting with the machete.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:37 pm
I remember seeing Murphy making some clutch catches for the Bucs. Agree he should not rush the comeback attempt, So yeah I like Murphy
August 29th, 2016 at 3:44 pm
I agree Murphy is an upgrade from the core…but I’m sure the Bucs will be watch the cuts over the next few weeks. Seems that we have some depth at o-line that might work to a trade advantage for the Bucs.
August 29th, 2016 at 3:48 pm
Speaking for Pablo
“Pablo don’t need nuthin’ to make Pablo sleep better….after working hot Pasco County roofs by day and swinging Pablo’s elongated arc (Haboo has one too) table dancing at night….Pablo is a sleep machine. Now as for Murphy….he’s no Hulio Hones….but Murphy is better than the future avocado pickers waiting to make the team now”
August 29th, 2016 at 4:01 pm
Pickgrin
murphy career numbers speak for themselves only homers and softies for local feel good stories believe that murhpy can help the bucs. he can’t but good luck to him.
August 29th, 2016 at 4:03 pm
Murphy Cutting Hard is equivalent to taking a Ford Pinto the NHRA Nationals…
August 29th, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Murphy as a 4 or 5? Sure. As a 2 or 3 then No thank you.
With Evans vjax and hump as our top 3 I feel good. If asj could just learn how to be a professional for the last 10 games of the season(playoffs too?) we can really make a run. This is it for vjax so wr has got to be a priority in FA and the draft
Heck wasn’t brandon Marshall traded for a 5th rounder?
August 29th, 2016 at 4:16 pm
Well even if the last catch that Murphy makes for the Bucs ends his career Go Murphy!
August 29th, 2016 at 4:17 pm
And I’m not saying trade for Marshall I’m just using an example of a stud wr to be traded in the last 2? Years and what the cost was.
August 29th, 2016 at 4:22 pm
Anyone who thinks Murphy can’t help us is crazy. He’s not going to be a 800 yard type of guy, but even if he could go for 350-400 yards, that would be a nice help. Does anyone think anyone past Jackson, Evans, and Humphries is even remotely close to that type of contribution? I don’t think anyone else will reach 200 yards. You could see last year after the Redskins game, Jameis had no weapons. People forget he was having a pretty good season last year, and Koetter seems to be very good at getting the most out of his players on offense. It’s also very unlikely we have our top 3 receivers healthy for all 16 games, so Murphy can provide some experienced, quality depth. If you’d rather have Dye taking the place of an injured Evans or Jackson rather than Murphy, then you must be seeing something I’m not.
August 29th, 2016 at 4:26 pm
you can’t say he is ok at 5 or 6 receiver when he does not play special teams. you are better off keeping a more versatile young guy with less of an injury history and more upside.
August 29th, 2016 at 4:31 pm
Hawaiian
murphy had like 10 catches last year not sure that would qualify has a great start but ok… he has like 10 career td’s over a course of 7 year injury plagued career. you don’t think a more versatile young receiver with no injury history can produce at murhpy’s level and proved special teams help. makes no sense to waste time on him keep a younger guy
August 29th, 2016 at 4:36 pm
let the haters hate…lou murph we need you….come back stronger than ever…GO BUCS!!!
August 29th, 2016 at 4:58 pm
We need this guy….unfortunatley we are thin at the position. I wouldn’t mind them kicking the tires on Jacoby Jones on the cheap….but Murphy is a really good receiver, he just can’t stay out the damn tub…
August 29th, 2016 at 4:59 pm
See if you can ressurect Rueben Randle’s career, didn’t he go off on the Bucs when we had J-fro
August 29th, 2016 at 5:01 pm
Good to see that Joe and most fans appreciate what Murph brings to the team. Granted he’s not a 1, 2 or 3 at this point in his career, but he’s a very good 4, 5 or 6. Jameis seemed to have excellent chemistry with him, which is important. Murph’s got excellent speed and pretty good size (6’2″ and 200 lbs). Granted he only had 10 receptions last year before he got hurt, but he also had 198 yds … that’s a pretty decent yds/catch average. Got a hunch the Bucs won’t rush him back though, and will likely wait to see if one of the WRs gets hurt. Confident (OK, hopeful) that he makes it back onto the team.
August 29th, 2016 at 5:04 pm
@tmaxcon,
First of all, I never used the words “great start”. Sorry, but I hate when people put words in my mouth. You can clearly see I wrote “having a pretty good season”. Second, no I don’t think anyone else on our roster can contribute at his level. You know why? Because I’ve seen them play in both games and practices. I’ve seen them drop pass after pass. I haven’t seen them make catches on third down to move the chains. I haven’t seen them make big plays down the field (minus one by Dye last year, where he proceeded to drop the ball in celebration, after not being touched). I haven’t seen those guys make critical catches late in games to set up a win. I have seen Murphy do those things. Maybe not a lot or as much as we would like, but it has happened. We don’t need him to do a lot, but we need him to be a threat. None of the other guys are a threat. People will just double Jackson and Evans all day long, because the other guys aren’t going to do anything.
The solution is pretty simple. Put Murphy on the PUP list. If the other guys magically step up, then worry about the problem of having too many quality receivers at that time. Something tells me we won’t have that problem. I’m not saying Murphy is a great player. However, he is experienced, and assuming his rehab has gone well, he is capable of making some plays. I trust him on third down. I trust him to do the right thing and take some of the attention off the better players. I would rather Jameis have an older, more experienced receiver than a bunch of CFL receivers. But maybe that’s just me.
August 29th, 2016 at 5:12 pm
Hawaiian Buc
fair enough. i would be very surprised if the bucs don’t pickup a wr that is released from another team. after Humphreys I am not sold. i like what I have seen from Sheppard and he will contribute on special teams but after him it’s scary bad
August 29th, 2016 at 5:34 pm
you people have short ass memories,big Murph is a BEAST ..Big strong fast as hell and Clutch…dum dumz gonna eat crow with this one.
August 29th, 2016 at 5:36 pm
louis can play
August 29th, 2016 at 5:54 pm
Murphy looked solid last season until he went down.
August 29th, 2016 at 5:56 pm
Getting Murphy back mid season could be a huge need if VJax or Evans or Humphries goes down.
August 29th, 2016 at 5:59 pm
chromolly
What year was he a beast. The numbers do not back that up. Being a local feel good story does not make one a beast or even a good player. I think you need to raise your standards Megatron was a beast irvin was a beast murphy is a beliw average injury prone number 5 or 6 receiver who doesn’t play special teams. Please prove me wrong with game stats and high school doesn’t count.
August 29th, 2016 at 6:00 pm
@tmaxcon,
I am thinking we bring in another WR too. I can’t for the life of me think Licht is happy with the depth at that position. I know it will never happen (and probably shouldn’t), but it would be interesting if he makes a run at Josh Gordon, especially since he got to see him up close last week. If I were a GM and my job was on the line I certainly wouldn’t take a chance on him, but as a fan with no pressure, I absolutely would!
August 29th, 2016 at 6:19 pm
Hawaiian Buc
something tells me Cleveland is going to keep Gordon for the reason most gm’s are not secure enough to take that risk. I am on the fence with gordon but it’s more of a cliff than a fence since his next infraction would result in indefinite ban it’s a huge risk to give anything up for him. Nothing would make me happier than to see Shepard or even dye step and kick arse I just think it’s a big gamble to take that chance.
August 29th, 2016 at 6:29 pm
Sheppard > Murphy
Murphy has 1 more TD than Sheppard in the past two years. Lmao. Chew on that for a minute.
August 29th, 2016 at 6:39 pm
@DB55,
Shephard had 28 total yards receiving last year. He’s had 91 yards receiving total for his entire career! So because he has only one less TD than Murphy, he’s better? Is that common core math?
None of those lower receivers are going to get many TD’s. We have some huge red zone targets in Jackson, Evans, ASJ, and even Brate. Not to mention 2 really good RB’s. Relying on TD’s as the stat to determine who is better is not an accurate method to determine worth.
August 29th, 2016 at 7:11 pm
Ooooh forgive me the mighty Hawaii has spoken. Yes it’s common core math cuz I’m stupid. Although a second ago you said Murphy was good for 350-400 yards when in fact he had 10 catches for 200 yards as a starter.
I’ll take the guy who doesn’t play WR yet has about the same production as your lame duck. Moreover, Shep can play ST and is a captain.
3 catches/1 TD. Vs. 10 catches/ 0TDs and a waste of a roster spot.
Hey Hawaii do you like jazz?
August 29th, 2016 at 7:21 pm
@DB55,
I don’t think you read what I wrote. I said he wasn’t going to catch 800 yards, but it’s reasonable for him to get 350-400. Obviously that would mean he would have to stay moderately healthy. I’m not sure if you remember, but he got hurt fairly early in the season. I think it’s safe to say had he played more, he would have caught more. Shepard on the other hand wasn’t hurt.
You can argue with me all you want, but you won’t find one person within the walls of One Buc to agree with you. If you would, Murphy wouldn’t be on the team. Make no mistake, they want him back and expect him to contribute. I’m going to go ahead and make the assumption that Koetter knows talent a little better than you.
August 29th, 2016 at 7:23 pm
I’d rather have Reuben Randle who was just released
August 29th, 2016 at 7:34 pm
I couldn’t find one person within OBP to agree w me that Lovie was absolute garbage and clueless but that’s another story. Two years later they figured it out.
August 29th, 2016 at 7:40 pm
Hawaii you’re not exactly a visionary.
https://www.joebucsfan.com/2015/10/bucs-cut-wide-receiver-adam-humphries/
August 29th, 2016 at 9:47 pm
@DB55,
I would venture to say there was many people that agreed with you at OBP, but you just don’t fire a guy after a few games (unless you are Cleveland). They fired him after two years, knowing there would be a huge backlash.
I’ve never claimed to be a visionary. I’m not a huge fan of Humprhies either, but for what we have he’s a good player. He’s not Wes Welker, and he most likely never will be (you have no idea how much I hope I’m wrong with that statement), but he’s a legit NFL WR, which we don’t have a lot of. As for Shepard, Dye, Bell, etc., I’ll believe it when I see it. I like Shepard for special teams, but he’s been in the league for a while now. If he was going to tear up the league, I think we would have seen more by now.
August 30th, 2016 at 12:41 am
Keep Murphy. If he started a whole amount of games he would be very good as a starting game WR.
August 30th, 2016 at 7:47 am
Murphy is the third best receiver on our team.
August 30th, 2016 at 9:06 am
Your a idiot if u think Murphy can’t help this team. Especially with the poor depth we have now. He is a instant upgrade and has already proved he can help this team in the past so I don’t understand where all this crap comes from chat he wouldn’t help this corps out. He’s more proven then Humphries!! I can tell u that. Hump needs to stop dropping the ball before we call him a legitimate no. 3.