In the days since Kyler Murray signed a one-year contract with the Minnesota Vikings, some have (rightfully) questioned why he was even available.
Some have also wondered why the Vikings brought in a quarterback who was on the sideline for most of the 2025 season while the Arizona Cardinals used Jacoby Brissett as its starting signal-caller instead.
Well, any thoughts about the Cardinals "benching" Murray in 2025 were recently cleared up by Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer when he explained why the new Minnesota quarterback didn't play much last season.
"Coming out of the bye, Jacoby Brissett starred in what was probably Arizona’s best win of the season, a 27–17 Monday night victory in Murray’s hometown over the Cowboys.
Murray had practiced before the pre-bye losses to the Colts and Packers, and was questionable for the Dallas game—seemingly inching closer to playing.
Then, after Dallas, Gannon named Brissett the starter, but it was unclear if it was just for that week or the rest of the season.
Things got funky thereafter. Murray’s foot, still at around 60%, wasn’t getting better. He could play on it, but with a blood-flow issue, there’d be a risk of a more significant Lisfranc injury if he did.
So the decision was made, the day after Gannon named Brissett the starter, to move Murray to injured reserve, to give him a month to heal.
That was Nov. 5. Exactly a month later, on Dec. 5, with the team 3–9, having lost four straight since Dallas, the Cardinals and Murray’s camp mutually agreed it made no sense not to shut him down."
Injury prevented Minnesota Vikings QB Kyler Murray from returning to field for Arizona Cardinals in 2025
So, according to Breer, Murray's foot injury and Arizona falling to 3-9 during his absence were why he only ended up appearing in a total of five games last season.
While Vikings fans have every right to be concerned about Murray's durability moving forward, the theory that Arizona benched him in favor of Brissett last year can be put to rest.
If the Cardinals' record was closer to .500 when Murray was ready to come off of injured reserve, then it's safe to say that he likely would've been back in the starting lineup to help them make a push toward the playoffs.
Since 2023, Arizona has had a 13-17 record when the former No. 1 pick was starting for them under center. Obviously, not the greatest record, but it looks a whole lot better when one also finds out the Cardinals were also 3-19 without Murray as their starter in the same span of seasons.
If Arizona truly felt it still had a chance to make the playoffs last year, do we really think that they would've rolled with Brissett, a career journeyman backup, over Murray if he were healthy enough to play?
It's pretty simple to figure out an answer to that question.
Again, it's perfectly fine for Minnesota fans to be worried about Murray's injury history. But the idea that he became available this offseason for the Vikings because the Cardinals "benched" him last year isn't anywhere close to being true.