Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
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Quarterback Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals.
There are more than a half-dozen viable NFL starting quarterbacks who are already available, or soon will be, come the new league year on March 11, but one name stands above the rest.
It is easy, and fair, to contend that Kyler Murray is too small, too injury-prone and too opposite from the traditional Kevin O’Connell quarterback model to make sense for the Minnesota Vikings.
But it is impossible to argue successfully that he isn’t a better player now (and a better multiyear option) in Minnesota than Kirk Cousins or Geno Smith. It is also impossible to argue that he hasn’t accomplished vastly more in the league than either Malik Willis or Anthony Richardson, or to say definitively that Murray doesn’t have real runway left as an above-average starter.
A two-time Pro Bowler who will play the upcoming campaign at 29, Murray finished inside the top 10 in QBR in 2024. He missed much of last season after the Arizona Cardinals decided to hold him out to preserve his trade value, a decision they made following a foot injury early in the campaign.
Evan Sidery reported on Sunday, March 1, via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, that league insiders expect Arizona to cut Murray this offseason, which will result in his unrestricted free agency.
Evan Sidery
The Cardinals are likely releasing Kyler Murray when the NFL’s league year begins, per @RapSheet.
Arizona will have $47.5 million dead cap charge with a post-June 1 cut designation on Murray.
Murray would sign elsewhere on a 1-year prove-it deal.
“The Cardinals are likely releasing Kyler Murray when the NFL’s league year begins, per @RapSheet,” Sidery wrote. “Arizona will have $47.5 million dead cap charge with a post-June 1 cut designation on Murray. Murray would sign elsewhere on a 1-year prove-it deal.”
JJ McCarthy’s Development Remains Part of Vikings’ Plans for QB Room Next Season
GettyQuarterback JJ McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.
If cut, Murray will be a candidate to ink a veteran’s minimum deal worth just $1.3 million in 2026.
Meanwhile, Spotrac projects Willis will sign a contract worth more than $35 million annually in free agency after just 22 games played and six starts across his four-year professional career.
Were the Vikings to bring in Willis, that would mean essentially giving up on 23-year-old quarterback and No. 11 overall pick in 2024 JJ McCarthy after just 10 starts across his first two NFL seasons.
Meanwhile, adding a veteran like Cousins or Smith provides an alternative to McCarthy while also allowing him some runway to continue to develop and potentially earn the starting job moving forward, as was Minnesota’s original plan when drafting McCarthy two years ago.
Murray fits the same mold, though brings another element as a potential answer for the Vikings in 2027 and beyond, which Cousins and Smith can’t reliably provide given their relative ages (late 30s in 2026).
Anthony Richardson Trade Option for Vikings if Minnesota Doesn’t Add Kyler Murray
GettyQuarterback Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts.
Another path Minnesota could traverse is trading with the Indianapolis Colts for Anthony Richardson, as the two sides have mutual interest in teaming up.
“Cameron Wolfe with NFL Network reported that the Colts and the Vikings have mutual interest, [and] $5.3 million is what Anthony Richardson is owed this year,” Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk said at the combine. “Richardson and JJ McCarthy would have a true competition, and I don’t know who would win.”
Given Richardson’s struggles, Minnesota would probably also want to add a veteran to the mix who could serve as an adequate starter if both McCarthy and Richardson struggled.
Murray would make less sense in that scenario, as his talent and resumé should earn him either a starting job out of the gates with a new team this offseason or, at worst, a head-to-head battle with a young player like McCarthy for QB1 duties.
That may be what Cousins and Smith are hunting for as well. However, there are only so many jobs available, and both of them should also be signing league minimum deals as the Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders will be paying Cousins and Smith, respectively, considerable amounts of money to play elsewhere in 2026.