Panthers Acquire Receiver Louis Murphy from Raiders

Panthers Acquire Receiver Louis Murphy from Raiders
Fitzgerald Cecilio

Charlotte, NC

The Carolina Panthers have added another passing target for quarterback Cam Newton as they acquired wide receiver Louis Murphy from the Oakland Raiders in exchange for an undisclosed conditional draft pick.

The Panthers made the move after sending injured right tackle Jeff Otah to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick.

"For our overall offense, it was a move that we felt like we should make. The acquisition of Louis Murphy as a part of the Jeff Otah transaction was important. We basically swapped late-round picks," Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said.

Murphy has 90 receptions for 1,371 yards and six touchdowns in three NFL seasons on top of 143 rushing yards and one touchdown.

"We acquired a big wide receiver who can run and has had some production in the league," Hurney added. "He's a tough player who will bring some veteran leadership with him. We feel like it helps a position that we wanted to create competition."

Murphy will be an additional asset to the Panthers' receiving corps, behind all-time franchise receiving leader Steve Smith and emerging youngsters Brandon LaFell and David Gettis.

Murphy, a fourth-round selection by the Raiders in 2009, led Oakland's receivers with 75 catches for 1,130 yards over his first two NFL seasons. Last year, the 6-2, 200-pounder was limited by groin injury to 11 games where he 15 catches for 241 yards.

"We liked him when he came out of Florida, and he had two productive years with the Raiders," Hurney said. "He had some injury problems last year, but he's a talented receiver that has a chance to come in and help us."

Otah, selected by the Panthers in the first round of the 2008 draft, started 29 regular season games and one postseason game in four seasons, but he missed 31 of the team's last 35 games.

He spent the final three games of the 2009 season on injured reserve with a left knee injury that sidelined him for all of 2010. He played in four of the first six games in 2011 before returning to injured reserve to further rehab the knee.

"Jeff is an extremely talented player, and it was a difficult decision, but we like our young tackles," Hurney said, referring to Jordan Gross, Byron Bell, Garry Williams and newly acquired Bruce Campbell.