The New England Patriots have had one open roster spot for the past few weeks, but with practice squad elevations, that fact has largely gone unnoticed.
On Monday, the Patriots finally filled that open slot — claiming edge Caleb Murphy after he was waived by he Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.
Admittedly, not many people are familiar with Murphy. He was an end-of-the-roster player with the Chargers, and has played just 11 games in his career thus far. The 25-year-old entered the league in 2023, signing with Vrabel's Tennessee Titans. He was later released, signed to the Chargers practice squad, and eventually made their 2025 roster. Murphy had his first career sack against the Giants in Week 4 of this year.
A strong preseason led to Murphy making of the Chargers' roster. He had a pair of sacks against the Saints, a game in which he had a 90.4 PFF pass-rush grade; he had a 69.9 overall grade for the preseason, and an impressive 78.0 pass-rush grade through his four games.
Murphy was released for a reason. Aside from his single sack on the year, Murphy's 48.3 PFF grade shows he may have been a bit out of his depth.
While his NFL career hasn't been what he might have hoped so far, there's no shortage of potential for the edge rusher.
New Patriots edge Caleb Murphy was a Division II record breaker
Murphy started his career at Grand Valley State, Matt Judon's alma mater. He then transferred to Ferris State, a top Division II program in Michigan, where he won two D-II national championships.
While being a champion is good to hear, it was Murphy's absurd production that turned heads. An impressive 2021 season saw him notch 14.5 sacks, but 2022 saw him break records. The Bulldog recorded 25.5 sacks, breaking the NCAA record for most in a season across all divisions, and tied the record for most TFLs in a season with 39.
Murphy won the Gene Upshaw Award for the best offensive or defensive linemen in D-II, as well as the Cliff Harris Award, given to the best non-Division I player in the country. Most impressively, he won the Ted Hendricks Award, given to the nation's best defensive end; he was the first non-FBS player ever to win the award.
The list of Ted Hendricks Award recipients is nothing short of ridiculous: Aidan Hutchinson, Chase Young, Bradley Chubb, and Jadeveon Clowney, all top-five picks, have all won the award since 2012. Three other first round picks have won it in that timeframe, and second rounder Donovan Ezeiraku won it this past season. Murphy is in excellent company.
While the Patriots may not get an elite pass rusher in Murphy, it's far from unreasonable to think he could be a rotational piece to a team that needs more edge production. Keion White has been disappointing, and Anfernee Jennings isn't a scheme fit for the team's defense.
Murphy could be exactly what this team needs.