The Washington Redskins will be without starting defensive end Trent Murphy throughout the 2017 season after he suffered a torn ACL, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
Washington LB Trent Murphy has a torn ACL, as @nflnetwork reported, but also has a torn MCL as well, per source. Season-ending injury.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 11, 2017
Murphy was already slated to miss the first four games of the season after being suspended for violating the NFL’s PEDs policy.
This is a huge blow to Washington. Murphy, who started 23 games in his first two years, played in all 16 games as a reserve last year. He racked up a career-high nine sacks as a situational pass rusher to go along with 46 combined tackles.
This injury puts tremendous pressure on Preston Smith, who is coming into his third year as a pro out of Mississippi State. A full-time starter last year, Smith saw his pass-rushing productivity decline. He’ll need to improve his stamina and quickness this year to avoid struggling again in this area once again in 2017.
Though, this injury to Murphy will allow rookie Ryan Anderson more opportunities to shine.
From a big-picture standpoint, however, this is only bad news for a defense that already was a bit thin up front even before Murphy was lost for the season.