The Minnesota Vikings did not have a lot of cap room to work with going into the offseason, but they certainly made some smart decisions to create space and find low-cost risks.
One of those low-cost risks they are taking is rolling with quarterback Kyler Murray on a one-year minimum contract he agreed to, thanks to the Arizona Cardinals still paying him a large sum under his previous deal with them. All of that contributed to ESPN senior NFL writer Bill Barnwell calling the Murray signing the Vikings' best offseason move.
"The Vikings are getting Murray for the league minimum, with the Cardinals on the hook for the majority of what's owed to the former first overall pick in 2026. There's more to roster-building than sheer surplus value, but no deal has the potential to offer more upside in 2026 than this one. And given that the Vikings were facing down another season with J.J. McCarthy as their primary option under center, Murray addresses what might be their biggest position of need. Barring the opportunity cost of finding out that McCarthy's suddenly the quarterback they expected to land in the first round two years ago, the Murray acquisition offers virtually no downside and a massive amount of upside."
Kyler Murray checks all the boxes for the Minnesota Vikings after a smart offseason move
Minnesota's financial obligations to Murray are what make it such a great, even genius, move. The Vikings are paying him a little over $1 million to potentially be the starting quarterback of the team in 2026. If he ends up working out, great; if he fails in 2026, great as well, since they didn't invest a ton of money and resources in him.
The likelihood of Murray folding under pressure in 2026 is very slim since he's got a great offense around him with one of the top offensive geniuses as head coach, Kevin O'Connell. Murray is being gifted Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Juwan Jennings, and T.J. Hockenson, so he's literally set up for success in the passing game.
It also helps that Murray's biggest competition at quarterback is J.J. McCarthy. That might sound challenging since McCarthy was originally seen as the franchise quarterback, but the reality is Murray is being brought in as the starter in 2026.
Murray has been to the Pro Bowl and the playoffs with a Cardinals team that, quite frankly, was not as talented as this Vikings team, so this move was beneficial for him and Minnesota. No matter what, this feels like a home run move from a franchise that desperately needs it.
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