Watch our conversation with Waconia native and former Gophers TE Maxx Williams. He played with new Vikings QB Kyler Murray in Arizona 2019-2022. Murray and Williams connected on many throws, including for touchdowns. In a win over the Vikings in 2021 with Murray at QB, Williams had 7 catches for 94 yards.
**_\*\*\*Click the video box above to watch our interview with Williams\*\*\*_**
Williams was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He then signed with Arizona in 2019, the same year Murray joined the team as the top overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Let’s just say this: Williams is very happy that Murray landed with the Vikings. He thinks it’ll be a great marriage.
Williams comes from a football family. His paternal grandfather, Dr. Bob Williams, played quarterback at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Bears in 1959. Maxx’s father Brian, was a first-round pick for the Giants in 1989 and played 11 seasons in New York.
Murray visited Vikings headquarters and signed a one-year contract on Thursday, after the first overall pick from the 2019 [NFL](https://apnews.com/hub/NFL) draft was released by the Arizona Cardinals. Because he’s already owed $36.8 million in guaranteed salary by the Cardinals for this season, Murray was able to sign for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million and give the Vikings a [no-risk opportunity](https://apnews.com/article/murray-tagovailoa-73667637b6ad844b61cb28f7266a5478).
“Contractually, it doesn’t really make a difference to me. Every year to me is a go-out-there-and-prove-it year,” Murray said on a video call with reporters.
Murray, despite being sidetracked recently by injuries and dogged by questions about his work ethic, has two Pro Bowl selections, a 67% career completion percentage, a 2-to-1 ratio of touchdown passes to interceptions — and a bonus of 3,193 rushing yards with 32 scores.
Murray, who turns 29 on Aug. 7, will have the opportunity to rejuvenate his career and set up a big payday next year, much like Sam Darnold did in 2024 with O’Connell and the Vikings after McCarthy was sidelined. Though Murray has not played in a system like the one O’Connell runs, his ability is such that finding a way to be productive with him ought not to be difficult for the 2024 AP NFL Coach of the Year.
_The Associated Press contributed to this story_