After taking a tour of the TCO Performance Center and passing a physical (very important these days), Kyler Murray reached an agreement on a one-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday.
Since Murray is already going to receive more than $35 million from the Arizona Cardinals during the 2026 season, the Vikings were able to sign the veteran quarterback to the league minimum of just $1.3 million.
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport shared that, as part of the agreement, Minnesota reportedly included a no-tag clause in the deal, meaning the team cannot place the franchise or transition tag on Murray in the 2027 offseason to prevent him from hitting free agency.
Minnesota Vikings QB Kyler Murray already has plan set in place for 2027
After letting Sam Darnold walk freely into free agency without placing the franchise or transition tag on him last offseason, the Vikings probably wanted to make sure that didn't happen again if presented with a similar scenario with Murray in 2027.
But the former Arizona Cardinals quarterback clearly has his heart set on cashing in after the upcoming season.
There's nothing wrong with this approach from Murray. There's only a small percentage of NFL players who actually win a Super Bowl in their careers, so the others might as well try to make as much money as possible while they're in the league.
But it's clear that Murray and his agent are viewing the upcoming 2026 season with Minnesota as an opportunity to perform well enough to land another lucrative, multi-year contract in 2027.
This doesn't necessarily mean Murray is going to automatically leave the Vikings and sign elsewhere next year if he plays well enough to earn a big-money deal in free agency. If things go well in the upcoming season, Minnesota could definitely end up being the team that rewards him with a new, lucrative contract in 2027, and he makes plans to remain in the Twin Cities for multiple years.
Murray is essentially going to have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow as motivation to play well in 2026, and we've seen plenty of times in the past how that can bring out the best in NFL players. If that ends up being the case, hopefully the Vikings get to benefit from his performances for more than just one season.