Sean Murphy-Bunting is set to play his first season in the desert after signing a three-year contract in free agency. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer has played in the hot and humid weather of Florida, so he’s used to the heat even though it’s a bit different.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Signing with his third team in three years, Murphy-Bunting has new teammates to get to know. He talked about that process on the first day of Training Camp, with the Arizona Cardinals uploading the presser to YouTube.
“Learning guys, learning their behaviors, their personalities, seeing how well they mesh with mine,” said Murphy-Bunting. “Just being around guys like leaders in that room like Budda [Baker] and J.T. [Jalen Thompson]. Just getting comfortable with them, getting comfortable with everybody on the team, and just having fun, playing ball again.
Murphy-Bunting is entering his sixth season in the NFL, making him the elder statesman of a cornerback room dominated by rookies and second-year players. He’ll likely take one of the starting cornerback spots in the secondary, with the young players battling it out for opportunities to play. Last season, third rounder Garrett Williams and sixth rounder Kei’Trel Clark got a handful of starts at the position. The Cardinals added Max Melton and Elijah Jones in the draft to add more competition to the room.
“Being in the NFL, you know that it’s going to be a competition. Everything’s being evaluated. But it’s ultimately not our decision. So I think going into it, we lean on each other for things that we need to lean on them for. But we fight, we push, and we just try to make each other better every day.”
The topic quickly shifted to the veteran corner’s opinion on some of the new teammates at the position.
“I think Max is very savvy. Just certain questions he asks in the meeting rooms and how he retains information fast is, I would say, a lot faster than I was as a rookie.”
“Elijah, he’s a bigger, longer corner, and it’s the same way. Just speaking on him, he’s smart as well. He shows up every day, works hard. He answers questions before a lot of people answer questions in the room. He just shows up with a mindset of just getting better every day.”
Murphy-Bunting agreed with the notion that Melton has a big personality, the type that can bring energy to the room. He comments on most of the rookie’s social media posts to mess with him.
The veteran corner believes the best way for Melton and Jones to acclimate to the NFL is by learning from those who’ve been there before. Coming up with Tampa Bay, there weren’t a lot of veterans as he shared the starting duties with fourth-year corner Vernon Hargreaves III and second-year corner Carlton Davis in 2019. While all three players were high draft picks, he had to learn from veteran players at other positions, like Tom Brady in his four-year stint in Tampa Bay following a storied career in New England.
In 2024, Murphy-Bunting now serves as the veteran mentor for a very young team. He’s the lone player on the team with a Super Bowl ring as a member of the Tampa Bay team that won Super Bowl LV. Being comfortable and familiar with the experience, knowing what it takes to win it all, will be an asset to a Cardinals team learning how to win.
“I’ve been in situations where we lost in the playoffs and been in situations where we won, so I think it’s just a learning curve and being able to utilize any situation that I’ve been through on the other guys and just teaching them that you start really preparing for the playoffs now. It’s always a building. It’s always lessons to be learned throughout the season, but you can’t win a Super Bowl today. You’ve got to build on it every day. You’ve got to rely on the guys that you’re around, and you’ve got to trust that everybody’s going to show up and do their jobs when it’s time.”
Coming off a season in which the Cardinals’ defense ranked 31st in points per game allowed, Murphy-Bunting’s experience can help develop that side of the ball to develop into a strong enough unit to support their offense.
*Get the BEST Phoenix sports insider information, exclusive content, and access to our seasonal magazines! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our premium content!*
Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
