Pats Pulpit
It took the New England Patriots more than two weeks to fill the open spot on their 53-man roster previously occupied by running back and kick returner Antonio Gibson, who will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. When they did, they opted to go for the waiver wire.
Caleb Murphy, a former undrafted free agent in his third season in the NFL, was claimed by the club earlier this week. The 25-year-old had been put on waivers by the Los Angeles Chargers the previous weekend.
For the Patriots, he is not an entirely unknown commodity. Murphy had originally entered the league as a rookie free agent with the Titans in 2023, when they were still coached by Mike Vrabel. Now, the two are reuniting in Foxborough.
“He was a very productive college player,” Vrabel briefly said about the newest Patriot during his Wednesday press conference at Gillette Stadium. “He’s improved his fourth down ability and has experience there.”
Murphy played just 44 snaps in three games under Vrabel, and left the organization the subsequent season under new head coach Brian Callahan. He moved to L.A., where he became a “core four” special teamer in 2025: playing on kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return and punt coverage (as well as the field goal/extra point blocking crew), he was on the field for 76 percent of the Chargers’ kicking game snaps in his six games before being let go.
His listed position, however, is that of outside linebacker. And for the position group’s coach, Mike Smith, Murphy adds one thing in particular: intelligence.
“I flicked on his stuff the other night that he’s played reps. I can tell he’s a smart player,” Smith told reporters on Thursday. “His football IQ — he’s always in the right place. He’s got a nice little cross chop that I saw on film and a couple times out here. Picks up things quickly. You know, it’s tough coming right in and learning a whole package and you got five or six different personnel packages and finding a spot for him. But just notice how quickly he picks it up.”
Murphy had to adapt to various defenses throughout his career, dating back to college. Originally starting out at Grand Valley State, he transferred to Ferris State in 2020, where he set a new NCAA single-season record as a senior with 25.5 sacks. His production since entering the NFL has come nowhere close — 0.5 sacks in 14 career games — but the Patriots see something in him worth developing.
“Saw plays [Thursday] wearing pads. It’s nice to see somebody — [Wednesday] not being in pads — kind of throw his body around a little bit. So, that was good to see,” explained Smith.
“But just getting familiar with him, kind of really figure out what his style is and how he likes to rush and then how can we build off of that? Talk about our pass rush, our pass rush plan, sticking...
