Sam Darnold has proven a lot of people wrong over the last few years. Many people and experts had given up on the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, but those doubters have been forced to eat their words after he had a career resurgence with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024.
Working with Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell and taking some time to study the game led to him signing with the Seattle Seahawks before the 2026 season and quickly turning their investment into a Super Bowl win for the NFC West franchise.
It could become trendy now for franchises to give struggling young quarterbacks more opportunities to thrive. Perhaps a player slipped through the cracks while bouncing around the league and needed a new opportunity to thrive.
Could Kyler Murray be the next QB to have a career resurgence with the Minnesota Vikings?
The Minnesota Vikings signed former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray to a one-year deal this offseason. Although he is entrenched in a position battle with 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, Murray has an opportunity to showcase the talent that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Recently, NFL Spin Zone's Sayre Bedinger compiled a list of five quarterbacks who could follow the path that Sam Darnold took to his success, and the list includes current Vikings passer, Kyler Murray.
Here is what Bedinger had to say about the potential Murray has to break out in 2026:
"Murray has not been the same player that we saw early on in his NFL career, so he definitely fits the "reclamation project" criteria.
...If he can return to the form we saw from him during his first three NFL seasons (2019-2021), the Vikings could be NFC contenders once again."
Although Kyler Murray has a lot to prove in Minnesota, he has a lot of talent around him on offense, a strong defense to keep the team in games, and an offensive-minded head coach to help him achieve his potential.
Of course, that means he will need to stay healthy and play at a high level to achieve that success, but this seems to be a great situation for the former University of Oklahoma quarterback to change the trajectory of his career.
Other quarterbacks on the list include Tua Tagovailoa of the Atlanta Falcons, Mac Jones of the San Francisco 49ers, Malik Willis of the Miami Dolphins, and Will Levis of the Tennessee Titans. However, it would be fair to say that Murray is the most likely quarterback to have a career resurgence.
Time will tell if Kyler Murray can thrive with the Minnesota Vikings during the 2026 NFL season. But with all the talent around him and his skill set, the odds seem to be in his favor to get his career back on track.
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