Minnesota Vikings, Kyler Murray
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(Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings potentially have their starting QB for the 2026 NFL season after signing Kyler Murray. Nonetheless, it’s not a given, as he’ll likely need to edge out J.J. McCarthy in a QB battle during training camp and the preseason.
Murray has posted a 92.2 passer rating during his career with the Arizona Cardinals, throwing for 20,460 yards with 121 touchdowns and 60 interceptions across 87 games,per StatMuse.
The question for the Vikings will be whether head coach Kevin O’Connell can get the most out of Murray as he did with Sam Darnold in 2024.
Nonetheless, it was time for a change, and the former No. 1 overall pick has a chance to establish himself as the Vikings starter and get a new lease on his NFL career. With Murray now in the fold, former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum didn’t hold back his thoughts on this new signing.
“This may be the most consequential transaction in the last five years in the NFL,”Tannenbaum said on the March 13 edition of “Get Up.” “To get a starting quarterback at [who will be 29 years old before the 2026 season starts] for $1.3 million… in the last five years. When you think about the cap at $300 million and to pay a starting quarterback, presumably at 29 years old, $1.3 million, that’s incredible value.
“When you think about this, the team won nine games last year with really below-average play between Max Brosmer, J.J. McCarthy… Look at this graphic… and some Carson Wentz. It’s amazing how impactful this move could be. If they win two more games, they’re sitting at 11.”
Vikings Get Major Outlook After Signing Kyler Murray
Moreover, Tannenbaum believes that Murray puts the Vikings back in the playoff discussion for next season. As he mentioned, Minnesota pulled out nine wins during the 2025 season with subpar play from the QB position. Now, if Murray can stay healthy, the former Cardinals star could be what adds those extra two or three wins.
“They should win the division, and your quarterback is making the league minimum,” Tannenbaum added. “Again, context is everything. Starting quarterbacks are making upwards of $60 million. Look, I’m not saying he should be at the top of the market, but this is incredible value with a lot of high impact. If it doesn’t work out, there’s very little downside.”
Kyler Murray Expected to Beat J.J. McCarthy in QB Battle
While the Vikings will let the players determine who wins the job in practice and out on the field, CBS SportsNFL analyst Bryant McFadden already sees Murray being the starter over McCarthy.
“If it’s a quarterback competition, I visualize Kyler Murray winning that competition,”McFadden said on the March 12 edition of CBS Sports HQ. “I think this would be the same situation that we saw a year ago with theIndianapolis Colts when they brought in Daniel Jones.
“They made it known that it would be a quarterback competition between Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson. However it played out, at the end of the day, Daniel Jones won that job. So if that’s the case for Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy, I visualize Kyler Murray winning that job.”