After missing his entire rookie season with a knee injury, J.J. McCarthy finally took the field for the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, but things didn't go nearly as well as the organization (or the fans) hoped.
For one thing, of course, the Michigan alum missed another seven games with various injuries. And while he had his moments when healthy, including his miraculous comeback against the Chicago Bears in his very first professional start, the overall results weren't overly promising.
Last season, he ended up completing just 57.6 percent of his throws for 1,632 yards with 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, adding 181 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
Clearly not fully confident in McCarthy's ability to lead the team moving forward, the Vikings added seven-year veteran Kyler Murray back in March after he was released by the Arizona Cardinals.
And with the Cards still on the hook to pay the former No. 1 overall pick $35.5 million for the 2026 campaign, Minnesota was able to sign him for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million.
Now, while Kevin O'Connell insists there will be an open competition for the QB1 role, most seem to be under the assumption that, unless Murray has an absolutely disastrous training camp, the job is his.
And if that does indeed turn out to be the case, the two-time Pro Bowler has a shot to make a little NFL history, as he's on the cusp of making his way into the top 10 all-time in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
With the Minnesota Vikings in 2026, Kyler Murray has shot of entering multiple NFL record books
Through seven seasons, Murray has tallied 3,193 rushing yards in 87 regular-season outings, a figure that currently has him in the No. 14 slot on the NFL's all-time list for QBs, which shakes out as follows:
- 1. Lamar Jackson: 6,522
- 2. Michael Vick: 6,109
- 3. Cam Newton: 5,628
- 4. Russell Wilson: 5,568
- 5. Randall Cunningham: 4,928
- 6. Josh Allen: 4,721
- 7. Steve Young: 4,239
- 8. Fran Tarkenton: 3,674
- 9. Aaron Rodgers: 3,634
- 10. Steve McNair: 3,590
- 11. Jalen Hurts: 3,554
- 12. Donovan McNabb: 3,459
- 13. John Elway: 3,407
- 14. Kyler Murray: 3,193
As you can see, Murray is just 398 yards away from moving into the No. 10 slot, which currently belongs to the late Steve McNair. But as you can also see, Jalen Hurts sits at No. 11 at 3,554 yards, and Aaron Rodgers sits in the No. 9 position with 3,634.
So, those two have to be taken into account as well, although Rodgers likely won't get more than maybe 100 yards or so in his final season.
If Murray were to play all 17 games for the Vikings and maintain his career average of 36.7 rushing yards per contest, he'd end the 2026 campaign with 624 yards on the ground.
That would bring his career total to 3,817, which would be enough to get him into the top 10 regardless of what Hurts and Rodgers do and would also move him past Minnesota legend Fran Tarkenton.
As for where Murray sits on the NFL's all-time list for rushing TDs by a quarterback, his 32 regular-season scores on the ground have him in a tie for 18th.
- 1. Josh Allen: 79
- 2. Cam Newton: 75
- 3. Jalen Hurts: 63
- 4. Otto Graham: 44
- 5. Steve Young: 43
- 6. Jack Kemp: 40
- 7. Y.A. Tittle: 39
- 8. Kordell Stewart: 38
- T9. Tobin Rote: 37
- T9: Steve McNair: 37
- T11. Michael Vick: 36
- T11. Aaron Rodgers: 36
- T13. Steve Grogan: 35
- T13. Randall Cunningham: 35
- T13. Lamar Jackson: 35
- 16. Daunte Culpepper: 34
- 17. John Elway: 33
- T18. Fran Tarkenton: 32
- T18. Terry Bradshaw: 32
- T18. Kyler Murray: 32
As you can see here, while Murray is down in that aforementioned tie for 18th, he's just five scores out of the top 10, a number he's reached three times in his career. Again, however, he's got a couple of active QBs ahead of him in Rodgers and Lamar Jackson.
Now, if Murray can match the career-high 11 rushing TDs he recorded back in 2020, he'll have no problem getting into this top 10. But just as it goes with the rushing yardage, we'll now just have to wait and see how things play out.
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