The writing was on the wall for Kyler Murray‘s future with the Arizona Cardinals when backup Jacoby Brissett walked into the starting lineup for an injured Murray and put up gaudy passing numbers.
Murray’s struggles in the same offensive environment made the former first overall pick look bad. With the Cardinals moving on from head coach Jonathan Gannon in the offseason, it was time for the franchise to move on from Murray as well.
Given Murray’s talent, it wasn’t too surprising that the Minnesota Vikings were all-in on him as soon as he was free to negotiate. J.J. McCarthy looks nothing close to starter level and head coach Kevin O’Connell knows it. Even better, Minnesota was able to secure Murray on an insanely cheap one-year, $1.3 million deal. That alone has made the Vikings’ offseason a success.
If Kyler Murray pans out, the Vikings have hit a home run this offseason
Murray’s extremely team friendly contract was enough for the Vikings to earn an “A” grade in the eyes of NBC Sports’ Kyle Dvorchak. Dvorchack makes it clear that “Minnesota’s offseason comes down to one player“, and that’s Murray.
Because of offset language in his Arizona contract, he will be playing for the veteran minimum this year. Murray wasn’t great last year, but he wasn’t terrible either. He ranked 22nd in EPA per play (min. 200 plays), sandwiching him between Justin Herbert and Michael Penix. Murray finished 13th in EPA per play in the previous season. Even as his career has petered out, he has still been an average or above-average quarterback in the spreadsheets. Now he goes to a team with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson, plus Kevin O’Connell calling the plays. All for the lowest contract a team can offer?
When looking at the rest of Minnesota’s free agency campaign, it has been rather underwhelming. The team let some veterans walk, re-signed starting linebacker Eric Wilson and brought in cornerback James Pierre from the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s about the extent of it.
As Dvorchak points, their entire free agency hinges on Murray being successful in Minnesota. If he is, then it won’t matter much that the Vikings didn’t go crazy signing or trading for players this offseason. It’s a big if, but if anyone can make Murray work out, it’s O’Connell.
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