One familiar face from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ recent past is getting another chance with the team that drafted him.
Cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, a Buccaneers’ 2nd-round pick in 2019 and a member of their Super Bowl-winning team in 2020, signed to the practice squad on Monday.
“Reunion: Veteran corner Sean Murphy-Bunting is signing to the Bucs practice squad with the chance to elevate to 53 early in year, per source,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote on his official X account on Monday. “Murphy-Bunting, Tampa’s second round pick in 2019, was released last week by Arizona, which owes him $2M in guarantees.”
“SMB back in Tampa,” Fox Sports NFL reporter Greg Auman wrote on his official X account on Monday. “Adds depth to corner room. Won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay, now returns.”
“Sean Murphy–Bunting is back in Tampa Bay!” The Pewter Plank wrote on X. “He’ll start on the practice squad with a chance to be elevated on game day. Great depth addition, with 65 NFL starts to his name and experience in Todd Bowles’ system.”
“Bucs are reunited with Sean Murphy –Bunting, who played a big role on their Super Bowl team,” Tampa Bay Times NFL reporter Rick Stroud wrote on his official X account on Monday. “He signs with the practice squad.”
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SMB Ran Afoul of Cardinals in 2025 & Lost Big Money
Murphy-Bunting’s current team, the Arizona Cardinals, put him on the Non-Football Injury list in May 2025.
That ruled him out for the entire 2025 season and made it so the Cardinals didn’t have to pay his $8 million salary in 2025 — they wound up paying him just $1.2 million.
Before the 2024 season, Murphy-Bunting signed a 3-year, $25.5 million free agent contract with the Cardinals, which included $17.39 million in guaranteed money — he’ll wind up collecting just $11.3 million of that.
“Neither the Cardinals nor Murphy-Bunting have revealed the specifics of his injury,” The Arizona Republic’s Theo Mackie wrote. “The non-football injury list is a roster designation for players who are unable to practice due to either injuries unrelated to football or injuries that did not occur during NFL games or practices. Injuries sustained in training with private trainers, which nearly every NFL player utilizes, can land players on the list. Teams are not required to pay the base salary for players on the list … He will also not earn a per-game roster bonus that would have totaled $255,000 had he played all 17 games.”
Murphy-Bunting won Super Bowl With Buccaneers
Murphy-Bunting was a 2nd-round pick (No. 39 overall) in the 2019 NFL draft out of Central Michigan after he had 9 interceptions in 3 college seasons and left school with 1 year of eligibility remaining.
Murphy-Bunting played in all 32 regular-season games for the Buccaneers over his first 2 seasons, with 23 starts in which he had 114 tackles, 4 interceptions, 11 pass deflections and 2 forced fumbles. He also had 1 interception returned for a touchdown.
In the 2020 postseason, Murphy-Bunting cemented his name into Buccaneers’ franchise lore with 3 interceptions and 5 pass deflections to go with 19 tackles in just 4 games as helped lead Tampa Bay to its second Super Bowl win in franchise history.
Buccaneers Bring Back $25 Million Super Bowl Champion