Vikings Could Right Last Season’s Wrong with Kyler Murray
A year ago, the Minnesota Vikings bungled their quarterback room in the most depressing way possible. It wasn’t wrong to let J.J. McCarthy have a clear path to the starting job. What was problematic was the decision to largely let him go unencumbered.
McCarthy was coming off a season in which he missed his entire rookie year due to a knee injury. Rather than franchise tag Sam Darnold, or prop up Daniel Jones with the idea he could start, McCarthy was paired with something called Sam Howell.
Murray Is a Cleaner Quarterback Plan for 2026 than Another Veteran Stopgap
Darnold was always going to get paid on the open market. Understandably, the Vikings didn’t want to dip into those waters, given McCarthy’s status as a former first-round pick. Jones signed for just $14 million, though, less than the Vikings were willing to pay him. By bungling the language to keep him, he left and showed out for the Indianapolis Colts.
This time around, Kyler Murray is now available at the league minimum. Set to be released by the Arizona Cardinals, the veteran can be signed for as little as $1.3 million. With multiple suitors likely to emerge, no one is likely to get him that cheap. Despite still getting nearly $37 million from the Cardinals next year, a market exists.
Therein lies the opportunity for Minnesota. Sure, Daniel Jones is available after being tendered a transition tag by the Colts. He’s coming off a significant injury, though, and Murray may just need a change of scenery.
Murray has an injury history of his own and played in just five games last season. However, he has done a good job of remaining relatively healthy given his diminutive stature as an NFL quarterback. He owns a career 67.1% completion rate and has thrown for 121 touchdowns in just 87 games.
If you want to question Murray’s commitment to the game, at least the one he plays on a football field, that’s a different story. Murray getting a second life in football with O’Connell, throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, could be the most electric Vikings offense we have seen since Dante Culpepper was rolling with Randy Moss and Cris Carter.
We’ll soon see just how much Murray will get paid. It’s probably going to be less than even the aging veteran options, and that has to make a team like Minnesota, strapped under the cap, feel really good.
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