At 26, Sean Murphy-Bunting is the 'young old guy' in Arizona Cardinals' CB room
As a young kid growing up in the Detroit area, Sean Murphy-Bunting always knew his athletic talents could take him places in life. He didn’t know where or how far he might get, but one thing he’s never lacked is confidence.
It seems to have started when he was 4. That’s when he joined the Titans on the Detroit PAL Youth Football League, a six-month recreational program for boys 5-14. Not only was he underaged, but he started ahead of teammates who were six, seven and eight years old.
“That was the confidence builder that set the tone for the rest of his life,” his mother, Kim Murphy, told Central Michigan’s student newspaper in 2019. “In his mind, it couldn’t get any better than that, but little did he know it was only the beginning.”
A three-sport star in high school at Chippewa Valley (Clinton Township, MI), Murphy-Bunting parlayed his skills into becoming a top cornerback at Central Michigan and he was so good the Tampa Buccaneers made him a second-round pick in 2019.
He started 10 of 16 games as a rookie and the next season, he started 13 and became a integral part of the defense during the Buccaneers’ ride to winning Super Bowl 55 over the Chiefs. Murphy-Bunting recorded an interception in each of Tampa’s first three playoff games that postseason.
“For me, it was just really a case of doing everything and executing the right way,” Murphy-Bunting said last week after agreeing to join the Cardinals on a three-year, $25 million deal. “My confidence level was at an all-time high. We showed up every day, working, and we were all young and excited to play with Tom Brady.
“To have an opportunity to win a Super Bowl with Tom Brady, the way that things were adding up, it was like, ‘How could we not?’ ”
Following four seasons in Tampa and one season last year at Tennessee, Murphy-Bunting comes to Arizona as the most experienced cornerback on the roster. And he’s only 26.
He’s a favorite to earn one of the two starting outside spots in a cornerback group that includes Garrett Williams, 22, Kei’Trel Clark, 22, Darren Hall, 23, Quavian White, 23, Starling Thomas V, 24, Divaad Wilson, 24, Bobby Price, 25 and Michael Ojemudia, 26, who is three months younger than Murphy-Bunting.
“The way everything just flowed, winning that Super Bowl, getting to play with guys in Tampa that you grow up watching on TV and you’re playing with Hall of Famers, you’re able to learn so much and take so much away from them,” Murphy-Bunting said. “And then you’re able to apply that in another situation with another team, where you go and you’re the vet, you’re not the young guy anymore.
“You’re the old guy in the room.”
Does he feel “old” at 26?
“Not at all. I feel young, man.,” he said. “I feel young. I know I look young, right? But I feel young. I’m a young old guy. I’m a young vet with a lot of experience in many different aspects, whether it’s (playing) outside, whether it’s inside. As far as feedback and aspects go, I’m able to apply that and help anybody who needs that.”
Murphy-Bunting comes to the Cardinals with 50 starts in 67 career games in which he’s totaled 245 tackles and 29 passes defensed with eight interceptions, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
After talking with General Manager Monti Ossenfort, Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallies, Murphy-Bunting said the Cardinals “see something in me that I see in myself.” It’s everything the Cardinals preach, he noted, especially when it comes to bringing a team-first attitude to work every day.
“It’s about embracing that I am a vet and embracing what I have been through and embracing the type of player that I am, the person that I am.,” he said. “That’s one thing that’s never changed about me. It’s always attacking the day, always attacking opportunities at full throttle, just being myself, being humble, being able to help guys and pull guys along who may need it.”
At the scouting combine, Gannon discussed the youthful nature of the Cardinals’ cornerback room but said the experience some of those players received in 2023 will benefit them and the team in the long run.
“I feel like just with those amount of snaps that some of our younger guys have played — certain good plays that they made, certain mistakes that they made — will help them hit their ceiling and ascend quicker,” Gannon said. “The quicker you can get on the field and bank those reps, the more chance you have to grow as a player.
“That was good for those guys. Reps are gold, man. There’s not a lot of those to go round and you have to earn them, too. But I feel good about where we’re going here in 2024.”
So does Murphy-Bunting, who never knew for sure where or how far football would take him.
“No. Growing up and coming from the inner city of Detroit, you don’t really know what’s really out there,” he said. “You have so many dreams and so many goals and so many aspirations, but you don’t know anything is really possible until it’s happening.”
It happened and it continues to happen for the 6-foot, 190-pound defensive back. And he knows how he wants the next chapter of his story to play out with the Cardinals.
“That I’m the guy that they’ve been waiting for,” he said, confidently. “I want to be the guy you can rely on and say, ‘He’s going to handle that side of the field and we’re OK there.’ That’s just what it’s going to be.”
Roster moves
The Cardinals signed one Jonah Williams last week and they reportedly have interest in another free agent with the same name.
According to a report by KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson, the Cardinals are expected to visit with defensive lineman Jonah Williams, formerly of the Rams, on Tuesday. The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Williams, who met with the Vikings on Monday, had 49 tackles and two sacks last season for the Rams, whom he joined in 2020 as an undrafted free agent rookie out of Weber State.
The Cardinals signed former Bengals offensive tackle Jonah Williams last week on a two-year deal.
*The team officially announced the singing of free agent wide receiver Chris Moore, 30, to a one-year deal. Moore, an eight-year veteran, has played in 106 career games with 138 receptions for 1,710 yards and eight touchdowns.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: At 26, Sean Murphy-Bunting is the 'young old guy' in Cardinals CB room
