Kyler Murray has officially signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings, as announced by the team on Thursday. The agreement is for one season, according to sources cited by ESPN”s Adam Schefter. Murray will join former first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy in the Vikings” quarterback room.
The Vikings will pay $1.3 million of the $36.8 million already guaranteed to Murray through his previous contract with the Arizona Cardinals, who released him on March 3. Although the move was finalized on Wednesday, the Vikings had identified Murray as a top priority weeks earlier in their search for competition for McCarthy. They had also shown interest in veteran quarterback Geno Smith, but he was traded from the Las Vegas Raiders to the New York Jets before hitting the open market.
Head coach Kevin O”Connell has been vocal this offseason about McCarthy and the overall depth at the quarterback position. While he has not explicitly stated a desire to replace McCarthy, he has left open the possibility of looking for a starting quarterback for 2026. Rob Brzezinski, the executive vice president of football operations, who is currently serving as interim general manager after the firing of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, emphasized that the team would consider all options to improve their quarterback play.
Since being drafted as the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, McCarthy has started only 10 games over two seasons. He has faced multiple injuries, including a torn right meniscus that kept him out for the entire 2024 season. Last season, his quarterback rating of 35.6 ranked 24th among the 26 NFL quarterbacks who started at least 10 games. The Vikings allowed both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones to leave via free agency in 2025, which positioned McCarthy as the likely starter with limited backup options. The organization is determined to avoid repeating past mistakes in securing quarterback depth.
At 28 years old, Murray will either challenge McCarthy for the starting role or take the position for Week 1. His tenure with the Cardinals was marked by impressive plays but concluded with only one playoff appearance, a wild-card loss against the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Murray is a two-time Pro Bowler and one of only five players in NFL history to surpass 20,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards within their first seven seasons, joining the ranks of players like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, free agent Russell Wilson, and former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
Entering the league in 2019 as the Heisman Trophy winner and the first overall draft pick, expectations were high for Murray, especially under former Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury, whose offensive system Murray was familiar with since eighth grade. However, despite his remarkable high school and college records, including not losing a game in high school and only three losses in college, Murray could not replicate that success in the NFL. His record with the Cardinals stands at 38 wins, 48 losses, and one tie, with injuries significantly impacting his last five seasons.
After being healthy for all 16 games in 2019 and 2020, Murray missed three games in 2021 and six in 2022 due to an ACL tear. He returned for the final eight games of the 2023 season, played every game in 2024, and then faced another setback last season, playing only five games before a foot injury sidelined him for the remainder of the year. Over his seven seasons, Murray has thrown for 121 touchdowns versus 60 interceptions and has added 32 rushing touchdowns to his tally.
ESPN”s Josh Weinfuss contributed to this report.
