A year ago, Patriots coach Bill Belichick decided to move Bill Murray from defensive tackle to guard. Belichick is liking what he’s seeing.
“Bill’s way ahead of were he was last year. We ended up making that move last year right before the start of training camp,” Belichick said today at training camp. “He got off to a really good start in training camp, then hurt his ankle against the Giants [in the preseason] and kind of had a hard time catching up after that. He missed like three weeks in August or whatever it was. He had a full spring this year, so he’s way ahead of where he was, technique-wise, understanding terminology. Bill’s a smart kid, nobody works harder than Bill Murray. He’s an all day, every day worker. He’s doing well, excited to see where he is when we get the pads on and start putting the techniques he’s worked on, his strength and explosion, see what that looks like in padded practices.”
Belichick says Murray fits the profile of what he likes in a guard.
“Bill’s got good size, he’s a very strong kid, he’s smart, understands football,” Belichick said. “Speed’s always an issue on defense and I just think he has a good playing style, good personality and good physical skills for offense. Not saying we couldn’t move him back to defense because I think we could, but where we were last year when we made the move and this year, we’re relatively inexperienced at guard, and we gave him a chance. He just wants to play, and we’ll see if he can.”
Although he’s been with the Patriots since they signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2020, Murray has never played either offense or defense in a regular-season game, having played just three snaps of special teams so far in his career. But Belichick sees potential in Murray, and this could be the year he delivers on that potential.
