NASHVILLE – Sean Murphy-Bunting is preparing for his fifth NFL season.
He has a Super Bowl ring and 53 games of experience, not counting postseason play.
When the veteran cornerback joined the Titans earlier this offseason, however, he wanted to create a clean slate.
It started by picking a new number – No. 0.
"I wouldn't even say it was as important being No. 0," Murphy-Bunting said. "I think more so for me is just a new opportunity, to have a different journey. I've been through a lot throughout my years, and I've only been in the league for four full seasons.
"It was just a different journey for me, and a different opportunity. So, I just wanted a fresh start."
A second-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by Tampa Bay, Murphy-Bunting signed with the Titans back in March.
He's been working with his new teammates during the offseason program, practicing alongside a lot of younger teammates he's looking forward to mentoring while on the team.
Murphy-Bunting has plenty of moxie – he's started 36 of his 53 games in the NFL, all four years with the Buccaneers. He's been credited with 139 tackles, six interceptions, and 21 passes defensed in his career, along with four forced fumbles.
He's also proven to be a gamer. In 2020, Murphy-Bunting became the first player with an interception in each of his first three playoff games since Hall of Famer Ed Reed while playing a key role in Tampa Bay's run to winning a Super Bowl trophy.
He thinks his versatility made him attractive to the Titans.
"I'm an athlete," he said. "I feel like I can honestly play any position in the secondary. I know pretty much every position in the secondary, and that's pretty much how I've always been. … I've never looked at football as just knowing one thing, because at the end of the game you can be put in different situations, different positions and it doesn't really matter how you look at it. And the end of the day you have to do your job, or whatever coach needs of you."
Murphy-Bunting (6-0, 195) played in 12 games in 2022, with five starts, and he intercepted a pair of passes while tallying 27 tackles, one tackle for a loss, seven passes defensed and one forced fumble. He was one of eight Tampa Bay defenders to log at least 400 defensive snaps last season. He also played 120 snaps on special teams and made four kick-coverage stops.
His season was cut short in 2021 because of a dislocated elbow.
With the Titans, Murphy-Bunting said he's doing his best to fit in.
He likes the culture he's seen so far.
"I think it's more so being myself," he said. "I show up every day ready to work. If (teammates) have any questions for me, I am free to answer them. If there's anything they want to know from the past, what I have been through, how I have dealt with certain situations, I am always there to lend advice.
"I just want to build relationship with guys."
