Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted former Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Gabriel Murphy for a free agent visit on Friday, according to the NFL transactions page.
Murphy, 25, spent the last two seasons on the practice squad of the Minnesota Vikings, appearing in three games.
He first joined the Vikings as an undrafted free agent out of UCLA in April, 2024. He started his rookie season on the injured reserve list, and then was released to the practice squad. He was called up for two games, playing on defense and special teams and recording one tackle.
He returned to the Vikings in 2025, and was again released after training camp and added to the practice squad. He was called up once this season, playing 18 snaps of defense and special teams in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons, without recording any statistics.
A 6-foot-2, 248-pound linebacker, the Vikings used Murphy primarily as an edge rusher in their 3-4 defensive scheme that is structured similarly to what the Steelers have traditionally used, though with a head coaching search ongoing, what system Pittsburgh will have in place in 2026 is currently unclear.
A Dallas native, Murphy first attended North Texas from 2019-21 before transferring to UCLA for his final two collegiate seasons. His most productive season was as a redshirt senior at UCLA, when he recorded eight sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 38 tackles and two passes defended as a 13-game starter, earning an honorable mention All-Pac 12 selection.
In pre-draft testing, Murphy showed elite speed, but is significantly undersized compared to most edge rushers. He ran a 4.68-second 40-yard dash and posted a 39.5-inch vertical and 10-foot-3 broad jump for an overall 9.27 Relative Athletic Score, despite height and weight in the 28th and 22nd percentile for edge rushers.
His speed and lack of size might make Murphy a potential candidate to move to an off-ball linebacker role. He is one inch shorter and one pound heavier than current Steelers inside linebacker Malik Harrison.
Murphy has an identical twin brother, Grayson Murphy, who attended North Texas and UCLA alongside him and spent time with the Miami Dolphins over the last two seasons.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Host Blazing-Fast Linebacker for Free Agent Visit
