This offseason is a make-or-break one for the Minnesota Vikings after missing the postseason and needing to answer more questions than expected.
The Vikings ended the season on a high note but still finished 9-8 and missed the postseason. A big reason for that is the inconsistencies and struggles at quarterback led by J.J. McCarthy.
While there were some promising signs from McCarthy, the Vikings still have plans to bring in competition for him and push the second-year quarterback for the starting job in 2026.
Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox recently shared a list of potential available quarterbacks and where they could land, with the best and worst spots. While guys like Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers' best spot was the Vikings, Knox warned against Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals landing in Minnesota.
"Minnesota certainly won't trade for Murray, but would it consider adding him as a bargain-bin free agent? It shouldn't. Murray shouldn't want to join the Vikings, even though they have a QB-friendly coach in O'Connell and talented pass-catchers like Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
While O'Connell helped rebuild QBs like Darnold and Jones, his system is better suited for a traditional dropback passer, which Murray is not.
Despite having a much longer NFL resume, Murray might actually have a difficult time beating out McCarthy for the starting job—especially since the Vikings will go with the guy in whom they're invested if things are close.
And if Murray can't beat out an injury-prone and inconsistent McCarthy, his time as an NFL starter could be over."
Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray might not be the right spot for Minnesota Vikings and vice versa
From Murray's perspective, the Vikings seem like a great spot as he could throw it to Jefferson and Addison, but the scheme isn't right. O'Connell does not work with mobile quarterbacks and would be forced to either work around Murray's strengths or turn him into a pocket passer, wasting his running talents.
If Murray ends up losing to McCarthy for the starting job, that's a bad message being sent to the rest of the NFL that he can't even beat out a quarterback who struggled in his first full year as the starter. It would also be bad for him mentally as he moves forward with his career, potentially as a backup.
This wouldn't make sense from the Vikings' perspective, as they would have to make sure this isn't a trade and that they sign him to a free-agent contract. Also, as previously mentioned, Murray is not a fit in O'Connell's offense in any way.
Minnesota would be better off getting a quarterback like Cousins or Rodgers, as obvious as that might seem. Murray would be an ambitious move for the Vikings, but one that wouldn't ultimately work out in their favor.