A dangerous quarterback has just let the NFC West. Kyler Murray was released by the Arizona Cardinals and signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
Many NFL fans have their complaints with Murray. His career started off with a bang before he and Kliff Kingsbury ran out of steam. Kingsbury was fired two years ago. Since Murray spent as much time watching from the sidelines with injury-abbreviated seasons.
But Kevin O’Connell and the Vikings are pretty much the top experts at rehabilitating the careers of quarterbacks. Not only did they correct Sam Darnold’s trajectory in 2024, but they also brought in Daniel Jones upon his release from the Giants. Both players played well when healthy this past season and have either been paid handsomely or soon shall be.
Let’s not forget that the Vikings finished with a winning 9-8 record despite starting three different quarterbacks a year ago.
JJ McCarthy had ups and downs to finish 6-4. Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer went 3-4 in the remaining seven games. Murray is better than these options and could easily help Minnesota return to the playoffs assuming the defense can keep pace.
Minnesota’s offensive line is revamped. They have a great corps of pass catchers in Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and TJ Hockenson. O’Connell pulls the offensive strings as well as any play caller. There is more work to do at receiver and at running back, though the Vikings have ample draft capital to address these needs. Murray’s running ability should also maximize the running game similar to how the Cardinals consistently had one of the best ground games during the quarterback’s time in Arizona.
So while the Rams will enjoy watching Murray leave their division, they may still see him in the playoffs sooner than later.
It won’t take long for the Cardinals to regret moving on from Murray. They’ve resigned themselves to start Jacoby Brissett after losing out on Jimmy Garoppolo. Veteran journeyman Gardner Minshew will serve as the backup. Brissett is effectively the quarterback bad teams choose to keep them interesting, but he’s not capable of leading a turnaround.
The arrow is pointing up for the Vikings and Murray big time. The Cardinals likely will be an afterthought again in 2026.
