Larrell Murchison has showed flashes of dominance over his five years as a pro but injuries have robbed him of playing time throughout his NFL career. The Rams want to give the defensive tackle another shot.
Murchison, 27, and the team agreed to a one-year contract on Friday night to keep the unrestricted free agent in Los Angeles.
A 6-2, 285-pound veteran out of North Carolina State, Murchison has versatility to play any position on the defensive line. He played both tackle and end with the Titans, although the Rams have lined him up primarily on the inside.
Keen observers will remember Murchison as the player who posted two sacks in the Rams’ 51-14 win over Denver on Christmas Day 2022, his first game with the team. In fact, head coach Sean McVay didn’t even meet his new defensive tackle until after the game. The Rams had claimed him on waivers two weeks earlier after Tennessee let him go.
The following season, his first full year with the Rams, Murchison played a career-high 252 defensive snaps and started three games. But injuries robbed him of his entire 2024 campaign.
In the Rams’ first preseason contest last year, he sustained an arm injury that sidelined him through the season’s first month. Then, in his first practice attempting to return, he broke his foot and missed the rest of the year.
Both Murchison and the Rams are hoping he can write a new narrative to his NFL career. He entered the league as Tennessee’s fifth-round selection in the 2020 draft and played in 10 games as a rookie, then fought through knee and elbow injuries in 2021, when he started five games.
Murchison is the second signing the Rams have made on defense this offseason. Retaining him was important in the defensive-line rotation because the Rams saw defensive tackle Neville Gallimore sign with the Colts on Thursday night. Earlier in the week, Los Angeles landed defensive tackle Poona Ford from the Chargers, a key addition who figures to start right away.
However, Los Angeles also lost starting linebacker Christian Rozeboom, who signed with the Panthers on Wednesday.
Remaining defensive free agents the Rams could retain are cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, who made two memorable defensive plays last season, and starting inside linebacker Troy Reeder.