Kyler Murray’s seven-year tenure with the Arizona Cardinals ended this week when the team released him at the start of the new league year, still owing him $36.8 million in guaranteed money from the five-year, $230.5 million extension he signed in 2022. Today, Murray signed with the Minnesota Vikings on a one-year deal worth $1.3 million, with Arizona absorbing the bulk of the financial obligation.
The low cost made the signing relatively straightforward for Minnesota, but the implications are significant. Murray, 28, arrives as a direct challenger to J.J. McCarthy, the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft who has started just 10 games across two seasons due to injuries. If Murray wins the starting job and plays well, it could effectively end McCarthy’s time as the franchise’s long-term answer at quarterback before it ever truly began.
Murray’s Arizona tenure never reached its potential
The Cardinals drafted Murray with the first overall pick in 2019, and his early seasons showed why. He made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2020 and 2021, combining for more than 7,000 passing yards, 45 touchdowns and 1,200 rushing yards over those two seasons. He was one of the most dynamic playmakers in the league when healthy.
Injuries derailed what followed. A torn ACL in Week 14 of the 2022 season cost him the rest of that year and limited his availability through 2023. He played a full 17-game season in 2024, throwing for 3,851 yards with a 68.8% completion rate, but a foot injury knocked him out after just five games in 2025. He finished that abbreviated season with a 2-3 record, six touchdowns and three interceptions before Jacoby Brissett took over. The Cardinals finished 3-14 and fired head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Murray’s time in Arizona ended with a 38-48-1 record across 87 starts, a contract that became a source of friction and a career that felt perpetually interrupted. His 2022 extension included a provision requiring him to study film independently, a clause that generated significant public attention before it was removed. Questions about his leadership and commitment followed him through his final seasons with the team.
Minnesota gives him the infrastructure he needs
The Vikings represent one of the better landing spots available to Murray this offseason. Head coach Kevin O’Connell has demonstrated an ability to maximize quarterback performance within his system, and the roster around Murray is genuinely strong. Wide receiver Justin Jefferson remains one of the best players at his position in the league, and the supporting cast at receiver and tight end gives Murray immediate weapons to work with.
The fit is not seamless. O’Connell runs a system that relies heavily on under-center formations and throws into the intermediate middle of the field, areas where Murray has historically been less active. He built his game in shotgun-heavy systems and is better suited to vertical throws and designed scrambles than to the rhythm-based passing concepts O’Connell has favored. Adjustments will be required from both the coaching staff and the quarterback.
Those adjustments are manageable. O’Connell modified his system for McCarthy last season, moving away from certain intermediate concepts to better match what his quarterback could execute. Similar flexibility is available for Murray, whose mobility and arm strength open different parts of the playbook.
The competition with McCarthy is not truly open
O’Connell has said publicly that he believes competition at the position would help McCarthy develop regardless of the outcome. He has not declared a starter and may give both quarterbacks first-team repetitions in the offseason program and training camp.
In practice, the competition heavily favors Murray. McCarthy’s 2025 season produced a 35.6 quarterback rating, ranking 24th among the 26 quarterbacks who started at least 10 games. His first two seasons have been defined more by absences than by performances. Murray, in his worst recent seasons, has played at a higher level than McCarthy demonstrated last year.
For McCarthy, the window to prove he belongs may be narrowing faster than anticipated. Historical precedent offers little comfort. Since 2000, no quarterback drafted in the top 10 has been replaced by a veteran in the offseason and then reclaimed the starting job with his original team. McCarthy’s situation has unique elements, primarily the injury history, but the pattern is difficult to ignore.
Arizona, meanwhile, moves forward with Brissett and newly signed Gardner Minshew competing for the starting position in 2026, with the possibility of adding a quarterback through the draft still on the table.