A Tampa police spokeswoman said officers found Murdock at about 8:30 a.m. inside his car with what appeared to be self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The car was parked in front of Middleton High School, where Murdock made a name for himself as a dynamic receiver and state champion sprinter in track and field.

Al McCray, assistant head coach/receivers coach at Fort Hays State, said when he woke up at his Kansas home Monday he found a message on his cellphone from the player, thanking him for everything he had done for Murdock and his family. The athlete concluded the text with an apology that baffled McCray, who said he had known the 25-year-old since Murdock was in middle school.

‘‘I spoke to him a week ago, and he was so excited about getting ready to go to training camp. He was real happy about being able to help his mother out,’’ McCray recalled. ‘‘You always like to hear kids who talk about that. It brings a smile to your face to hear a young man talk about ‘Hey, I'm glad I'm able to help my mother out.’ ’’

McCray was an assistant coach at Middleton when Murdock was there and later helped the player resume his college career after he was kicked off the team at South Carolina, where he was part of Steve Spurrier’s first recruiting class.

‘‘The hardest part about this is I got a text at 3:30 in the morning, where he said: ‘Coach, I want to thank you for everything you've done for me and my family. It’s greatly appreciated,' ’’ McCray said. ‘‘At the end, he goes: ‘I apologize.’ And I don’t know what he’s talking about. I woke up, and I'm thinking he’s apologizing because he texted me so early. I wish he had called instead.’’

The speedy receiver did not report to training camp over the weekend because of what the Titans said at the time was a personal issue. He last was with the team in June for minicamp.

Revis practicesJets cornerback Darrelle Revis fully participated in practice in Cortland, N.Y., after sitting out team drills Sunday with some tightness in his right hamstring. Revis worked with the first-team defense during seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills, and showed no signs of being hobbled. The All-Pro participated in only individual drills Sunday and thought he could do more, but team trainers wanted to be cautious . . . Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes said he was the ‘‘scapegoat’’ for the team’s problems last season, particularly in the season-ending loss to the Dolphins. Holmes told ESPN Radio that with the playoffs on the line in that game, when he only had two passes thrown his way before being benched for the final two minutes after arguing in the huddle, ‘‘that’s just hard to understand and to cope with when you want everything just as bad as everybody else does.’’ He added that when no one has answers, ‘‘the scapegoat is the answer, and that’s what happened.’’ . . . Giants projected starting cornerback Terrell Thomas reinjured his surgically repaired right knee and his status for the season is uncertain.

Redskins take a hitRedskins starting left guard Kory Lichtensteiger underwent arthroscopic surgery Monday to remove loose particles from his right knee and is expected to be out until the Sept. 9 season opener at New Orleans . . . Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said defensive end/linebacker Jyles Tucker left training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., and the team has terminated his contract . . . Vikings running back Adrian Peterson returned to the team’s training camp in Mankato, Minn., after an allergic reaction at lunch sent him to a local hospital.