WR Louis Murphy traded to Carolina Panthers

Former Florida Gators wide receiver Louis Murphy has been traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Carolina Panthers for a conditional seventh-round pick, according to Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports and Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Murphy, who performed well during his first two seasons with Oakland after being selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft, ran into some health issues in 2011 and caught just 15 passes for 241 yards in 11 games as a reserve last year.

He hauled in 34 balls for 521 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie in 2009 and had 41 receptions for 609 yards with two scores in 2010.

Murphy was not guaranteed to earn a roster spot this season as the Raiders have steadily been upgrading their receivers. He is set to earn $1.26 million in the final year of his contract, which made him an attractive trade piece.

With the Panthers, Murphy will catch passes from former Florida teammate quarterback Cam Newton and has the opportunity to compete for a spot as one of the team’s top receivers behind veteran Steve Smith.

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