The Minnesota Vikings are 6-1 and heading into a primetime showdown with the Buffalo Bills on Monday night. While their record suggests they’re a contender, the vibes have been off because of the offense’s struggles and quarterback Kyler Murray's play.
Those issues have gotten so bad that fans have called for Murray to be replaced by Carson Wentz and a hamstring injury presented the perfect opportunity for a "soft benching." Those wishes came true on Thursday when Kevin O'Connell announced that Wentz will start against the Bills, but also raised long term questions about the Vikings' future at quarterback according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
"Everybody’s watched the games. It looks like, right now, there is a question about the quarterback position and how they’re going to handle it.
Carson Wentz looks like he’s in line to start Monday night, and you just have to wonder what’s gonna happen with the quarterback position.”
Minnesota Vikings' decision to start Carson Wentz over Kyler Murray isn't all that surprising
Starting Wentz feels shocking after O’Connell told reporters he is committed to Murray as the starter for the rest of the season during Monday’s press conference. But it might not be, considering how the Vikings have moved since their first loss of the season.
O’Connell threw out Murray’s injury as “hamstring tightness” after Sunday’s game and noted that Murray would have a full evaluation during Monday’s press conference.
With a long week, the Vikings did not practice on Wednesday as they normally would, but it feels like things are trending in the wrong direction health-wise for Wentz to start against the Bills.
Outside of the hamstring, it also feels like the wheels were in motion for a change at quarterback.
While O’Connell has been adamant that a few more reps are standing between where the Vikings offense is and where it could go, Minnesota offensive coordinator Wes Phillips also sounded defensive when he was asked about the complexity of the Vikings’ offense during Tuesday’s press conference.
“A lot gets made into [us having] some kind of super hard offense or something.
I mean, this is NFL football. There’s complexity to some of the things we do, but I don’t think [there are] a whole lot of offenses that are just lining up 2x2 [or] 3x1 and just calling plays and trying to win a whole lot.
You’re trying to give your guys whatever your system is. You’re not moving people for no reason. You’re not motioning for no reason.
Everything you’re doing is trying to give your guys some sort of slight advantage, slight edge in order for them to win, whether that’s angles in the run game, whether that’s releases, that sort of thing."
Phillips’s comments could apply to everyone on offense. But Murray is under a microscope, and when Tyler Forness of A To Z Sports turned on the tape, it was clear that the quarterback left some big plays on the field.
“It’s evident that Kyler Murray isn’t trusting what he’s seeing and is thinking a little bit too much on the field. The majority of those issues are coming on in-breaking routes to Justin Jefferson, where Murray has turned down way too many opportunities.”
That analysis sounds similar to what O’Connell removed concepts across the middle of the field as J.J. McCarthy struggled during the 2025 season.
But with a veteran quarterback who was expected to be an upgrade, they’re likely seeing the same mistakes and are probably looking toward starting Wentz, a quarterback who made those plays a year ago.
Kyler Murray's hamstring injury could spell the end of his time in Minnesota
The assessment of the Vikings' offense combined with their previous history of “soft benchings” meant it wasn't shocking when Murray's hamstring got progressively worse throughout the week. It's also more suspicious that the Vikings labeled Murray's status as week-to-week like a clunker by Wentz may be the only thing that could heal it.
As Schefter alluded to, however, the bigger question is where the Vikings go from here. If Wentz plays well, there's a great chance the Vikings could "ride the hot hand" and have him start the rest of the season. If he doesn't, the Vikings could be scrambling for another option as Murray has not progressed with the offense as the calendar turns to November and Justin Jefferson is showing his frustration.
Connecting the dots, it seemed like the decision to start Wentz was made well before O'Connell stepped to the podium on Saturday. And it leaves a lot of questions about Murray's future as well as the Vikings future at quarterback.
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