Myles Murphy reveals major offseason sacrifice he's made in the name of improvement

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Myles Murphy is projected to have a much larger role in 2025 following the retirement of Sam Hubbard and the potential departure of Trey Hendrickson.

Murphy has yet to start a game for the Bengals since the team selected him in the first round of the 2023 draft, but he could potentially be in line for a starting spot next season if he turns in an excellent offseason.

In order to take his conditioning to another level and put himself in prime position to seize the opportunities ahead of him, Murphy made a major sacrifice this offseason by shedding breakfast cereal from his daily diet. That means No Froot Loops. No Fruity Pebbles. No Lucky Charms or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Just coffee and positive thoughts.

Myles Murphy is in better shape after eliminating breakfast cereal from his diet

"I haven't eaten cereal in three months," Murphy said in a feature for the Bengals' website. "I feel that in itself, has changed me … because there's a lot of dense, packed sugar in cereal … which a lot of people don't think about. Most mornings, I just do some black coffee and I call it a morning."

As a result of this major dietary change, Murphy feels like he's in the best shape that he's been in since his college playing days at Clemson.

"I feel like I'm in one of the best bodies I've been in for years. Since sophomore year of college," Murphy said. "I ended the season at 282 and three weeks ago I was 265-267. Since then, I've been packing on muscle. Yesterday I weighed myself and I was 274. It's close to last year, but the body fat is different … I feel great … Losing that breakfast … I'm losing that sugar."

Murphy taking the small steps towards overall improvement is exactly what fans in Cincinnati want to see, and it should be applauded. Giving up breakfast cereal probably wasn't easy. That stuff is good. It's also not great for you, so kudos to Murphy for kicking it to the curb. In fact, cutting it out is good advice for anyone looking to get into better shape, NFL player or not.

Hopefully this change leads to a major step forward on the field for Murphy, who can take solace in the fact that he didn't cut any corners and put himself in the best possible position to succeed.

"I can only control things I can control," Murphy said. "Once my number is called, just know that I'm in my best possible body and just give it my all."