One of the worst-kept secrets in the NFL this offseason was the Minnesota Vikings making some kind of notable move to add a quarterback. After weeks of buzz and rumors, that quarterback addition was Kyler Murray once he was officially released by the Arizona Cardinals.
While there are some easy concerns overall, Murray is an absolute upgrade over J.J. McCarthy and Kevin O'Connell should have no trouble adapting his offense to what his new QB1 does best. And Murray is in the best overall situation he has had in a few years.
There is a chance things go poorly, and a visible path to things going bad for that matter, but it's going to be hard to harshen Vikings fans' buzz about Murray right now after what McCarthy showed last season.
NFL analyst takes harsh view of Minnesota Vikings' quarterback situation
As he unveiled his 10 worst quarterback situations in the NFL entering the 2026 draft, Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report found room for the Vikings on the list at No. 6.
In the "why it's bad" category, Gagnon reviewed the recent history of McCarthy and Murray.
"In practically every way you can measure a quarterback, J.J. McCarthy was the least qualified passer in the NFL during his sophomore campaign. Now they've added Kyler Murray, who missed significant action in three of his last four seasons in Arizona and has a 90.3 passer rating since 2022."Â
Murray's ability to return from a foot injury late last season is a viable question. It feels like the Cardinals shut him down, so their path to move on this offseason remained as clean as possible. And the two other seasons in the last four he has missed time were due to an ACL tear in December of 2022 that delayed the start to his 2023 campaign.
So let's not act like Murray has become injury-prone, even if his physical stature makes it easy to do.
Oh, but there is a "silver lining" from Gagnon.
"You're looking at two highly drafted guys in their 20s working with strong weapons and a stellar offensive line. And if it's a crapshoot, at least they get two rolls of the dice. They're also both cheap."Â
Ultimately, though, Gagnon maintained the negative thought train about Murray and McCarthy when it comes to his outlook for the Vikings' quarterback situation in 2026.
"The problem is that both have proven injury-prone. It's really hard to imagine either becoming a consistently reliable option."
With two cheap options atop the depth chart, and if things go way haywire, a third option (Carson Wentz) who could step in and perform capably, plenty of teams wouldn't mind having the quarterback situation the Vikings have entering the draft.
But sure, only five teams have it worse at the most important position on the field right now.
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