The experiment began in earnest late last season. Tight end Matt Murphy was moved to offensive tackle. The plan however, was curtailed when Murphy suffered a torn calf muscle a week into training for his new position assignment and wound up on injured reserve. Fast forward four months later and Murphy is back on the roster aiming to see the transition through.
"I was in the offensive line meetings the whole year and at the end of the season in a meeting with (offensive line) coach (Sean) Kugler he told me he still wanted me to work on the offensive line and so I set my mind for that this offseason," said Murphy.
For Kugler however, the genesis of this idea goes back far beyond last season. Kugler had coached Murphy as a rookie five years earlier in Detroit when he was the Lions' tight ends coach.
"When I was at Detroit and I coached him there with the Lions, I wanted to move him then," said Kugler. "Then he went to Houston and they tried to move him. Matt really has a lot of attributes that's going to help him be an offensive lineman. He has very long arms, he has excellent feet. Somebody might say he's slower for a tight end, but he's faster for a lineman."
"I was in the offensive line meetings the whole year and at the end of the season in a meeting with (offensive line) coach (Sean) Kugler he told me he still wanted me to work on the offensive line and so I set my mind for that this offseason," said Murphy.
For Kugler however, the genesis of this idea goes back far beyond last season. Kugler had coached Murphy as a rookie five years earlier in Detroit when he was the Lions' tight ends coach.
"When I was at Detroit and I coached him there with the Lions, I wanted to move him then," said Kugler. "Then he went to Houston and they tried to move him. Matt really has a lot of attributes that's going to help him be an offensive lineman. He has very long arms, he has excellent feet. Somebody might say he's slower for a tight end, but he's faster for a lineman."
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