J.J. McCarthy was always going to be facing quarterback competition in the season again. He wasn't good enough for the Minnesota Vikings in 2025 to keep the job for himself.
The competition may have become a simple leapfrog, though, if the Vikings take advantage of the fact that Kyler Murray is going to be a free agent when the new league year begins later this month.
The Arizona Cardinals plan to release him, with the news being reported on Tuesday.
There will be multiple teams that want the 2019 No. 1 overall pick, but the Vikings might be the biggest combination of need and upside.
In 2025, the Vikings had one of the most expensive and talented rosters in football. The only thing they didn't have was an adequate QB.
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Murray, even with his struggles and injuries the last couple seasons, is far and away a more talented quarterback than McCarthy.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell would love to get Murray into his offense for some creative solutions to problems defense try to throw at them.
If Murray was only on the trade block, the Vikings probably couldn't pull that deal off.
Now that Murray is a free agent and already earning more than $30 million from a Cardinals guarantee for 2026, though, the Vikings can get involved. Murray shouldn't cost nearly as much as he would've on the deal he's being released from.
There've actually been some rumors about Murray to Minnesota already, and they all suggest he'd be brought in to compete with McCarthy.
That'd almost certainly only be a competition in name only. As long as Murray is healthy, he'd prove superior to McCarthy in a hurry.
Murray and Minnesota might be actually what each other needs.
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