ELIZABETHTOWN — Larrell Murchison’s representing agency has announced he has agreed to terms with the Tennessee Titans.
The former East Bladen High School and N.C. State football standout is expected to sign a four-year deal, EnterSports Management says. Financial terms of the deal have not been announced.
Murchison was chosen in the fifth round with the 174th pick, becoming the first Bladen County athlete chosen in the NFL Draft. The 6-foot-2, 297-pound defensive tackle is projected to be a regular part of the Titans’ rotation up front.
“It’s what you dream about, getting paid to do what you love,” Murchison said in an interview with the Bladen Journal the Sunday afternoon after the NFL Draft.
At that point, his excitement was about the future and not necessarily focused on contract terms.
The NFL uses a rookie compensation pool formula to determine contracts, with the 32 teams this year splitting $1.4 billion based on team salary caps of $198 million, number of picks and where they fall in the draft.
Over the Cap has projected a four-year deal in the range of $3.53 million to $3.64 million, with average salary between $669,444 to $698,619. Spotrac has projected Murchison’s contract package at $2.9 million, including a $277,741 signing bonus and a 2020 salary of $679,435.
Murchison, described by some analysts as top-100 value, goes to a franchise that last year came up one win short of the Super Bowl. The Titans lost 35-24 in the AFC Championship to eventual world champion Kansas City after going 9-7 in the regular season to finish second in the AFC South.
They went on the road and ousted New England 20-13 and Baltimore 28-12. Tennessee has been to the playoffs two of the last three years, which ended a drought of eight consecutive years with no postseason.
The head coach in Tennessee is Mike Vrabel, a former third-round pick of the Steelers and winner in three out of four Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.
Analysts said after the draft Murchison “made money in Mobile” when appearing in the Reese’s Senior Bowl, an all-star event that bills itself as where the journey to the draft begins. He also had an outstanding showing in the NFL Draft Combine in Indianapolis.
“If you’re good, they’re going to find out,” said his head coach at East Bladen, former St. Andrews University baseball pitcher Robby Priest.
The Eagles were 25-12 during Murchison’s three varsity seasons, reaching the playoffs’ third round once and the second round twice.
