The Dallas Cowboys were just the latest team to take a look at inside linebacker Kenneth Murray and think they could be the 1 to fix whatever the other teams couldn’t.
After giving Murray every chance they could in 2025, including starting him 16 games and ignoring another linebacker, Logan Wilson, to the point it essentially catapulted Wilson into retirement, Murray is back on the market, and Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox called him a “logical” fit for 2 of the worst teams in the AFC, with the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders.
“Linebacker Kenneth Murray entered the NFL as a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020,” Knox wrote. “Though he never became a star in L.A. and lasted just four seasons with the franchise, he has remained a starting-caliber linebacker. Murray started 14 games for the Tennessee Titans in 2024 and 16 games for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025. This past season, he recorded 81 tackles, one sack, two passes defended, and four tackles for loss. Still only 27 years old, Murray can be viewed as a long-term contributor to a defense. However, he hasn’t been a consistent coverage linebacker and is best-suited for a two-down role—Murray has allowed an opposing passer rating of 109.0 in coverage during his career. Murray isn’t a high-level starter, but he’d be a logical target for teams looking to reload their linebacker groups, like the Cleveland Browns and Las Vegas Raiders.”
Cowboys Blasted for Trading for Kenneth Murray
The Cowboys had arguably the NFL’s worst position group in 2025 at inside linebacker, and a lot of that started by trading with the Titans for Murray despite knowing how bad he is.
“(Cowboys) traded for Kenneth Murray Jr., who, I’m just not a fan of his game, to be honest,” ESPN’s Mina Kimes said in June 2025. “And I don’t think he solves any of their problem … that’s a very, very weak linebacker group. That’s been the Achilles heel of their defense, of course.”
The Cowboys obtained Murray in a trade with the Tennessee Titans on March 5, sending a 2025 6th-round pick to the Titans in exchange for Murray and a 2025 7th-round pick (No. 239 overall), which the Cowboys used on Clemson running back Phil Mafah.
Kenneth Murray Angrily Defended Poor Play
Murray was a constant target of criticism throughout the season, as his poor play was a touchpoint for how bad the Cowboys were on defense as they stumbled to a 7-9-1 record despite having 1 of the NFL’s best offenses.
Pro Football Focus had Murray with a bottom-feeding, 39.8 overall grade through 15 games, placing him 83rd out of 86 eligible players at his position. So, when people said Murray was the worst defensive starter in the NFL, there’s actually some evidence to back that up.
Not that Murray was listening. With 2 games left in the regular season, he gave a sharp response when asked if he’d been privy to any criticism of his game this year.
“I live under a rock, so could give two (expletives) about what somebody says, ” Murray told reporters on December 23.
Murray has $28 million in career earnings headed into 2026.
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