The Bills Think So Much of TE Matt Murphy That They're Moving Him to Left Tackle
We're smack-dab in the middle of the off-season, free agency is winding down and the draft is still six weeks away. Which makes this story even more remarkable since it has to do with neither: the Bills are in the process of moving tight end Matt Murphy to offensive tackle.
Usually, this time of year, the talk would be about the Bills targeting an o-lineman in the draft (and they still might, just not in the first round ... not unless he can play receiver too). But Murphy, who has seemingly been making the transition to tackle his entire NFL career, is Bills' o-line coach Sean Kugler's pet project, no matter how long it takes:
For Kugler however, the genesis of this idea goes back far beyond last season. Kugler had coached Murphy as a rookie five years earlier in Detroit when he was the Lions' tight ends coach.
"When I was at Detroit and I coached him there with the Lions, I wanted to move him then," said Kugler. "Then he went to Houston and they tried to move him. Matt really has a lot of attributes that's going to help him be an offensive lineman. He has very long arms, he has excellent feet. Somebody might say he's slower for a tight end, but he's faster for a lineman."
Murphy's currently at 284 pounds and hopes to add 10 to 15 more before training camp (he played tight end at 275). And while there's plenty to learn, the Bills already have plans to put him at left tackle this spring. If that works, Murphy could replace Jason Peters next season.
Okay, I made that up. But if Murphy does pull off the switch, he'll be the second Bills player to successfully change positions in as many years; last season George Wilson moved from wide receiver to safety, which I think is called the "Anti-Furrey."
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Qui Mar 06, 2008 10:35 pm
