Washington was already going to be without pass-rusher Trent Murphy for the first four games of the 2017 season, but now its outside linebacker will be on the sideline for the entire year. The Stanford product -- who was already suspended for four games for violating the NFL's performance enhancing drug policy -- tore his ACL and is out for the season in Thursday night's loss to the Ravens, according to a report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.
#Redskins OLB Trent Murphy suffered a torn ACL, per @MikeGarafolo & me, based on initial MRI. Already suspended 4 games, now out for 2017.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 11, 2017
ESPN.com's Adam Schefter reported that Murphy also tore his MCL.
Washington LB Trent Murphy has a torn ACL, as @nflnetwork reported, but also has a torn MCL as well, per source. Season-ending injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 11, 2017
It's an unfortunate blow for Murphy, who is coming off the best season of his career, during which he recorded nine sacks and 55 quarterback pressures (sacks plus hits plus hurries). The latter figure ranked 10th among 3-4 outside linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus.
According to The Washington Post, Murphy will serve his suspension while injured at a loss of $185,315 of his base salary.
With Murphy out of the lineup, Preston Smith, Junior Galette and second-rounder Ryan Anderson will be counted on to pick up additional slack for the Redskins. Meanwhile, star pass-rusher Ryan Kerrigan seems likely to see additional attention from opposing offensive lines, which could affect his ability to get to the quarterback consistently.
