Kyler Murray being linked to the Vikings creates multiple schematic challenges, and none of them may matter

The potential pursuit of Kyler Murray is a fascinating one on many levels.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) throws a pass against the Minnesota Vikings during the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings are going to have an important decision to make over the next few weeks at the quarterback position. Head coach Kevin O’Connell has made it clear he wants to bring in competition for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and there are a lot of options available to them.

While Geno Smith has been the more popular option linked to the Vikings in recent days, we learned on Tuesday that the Arizona Cardinals will be releasing quarterback Kyler Murray.

The idea of signing Murray is a fascinating one for the Vikings and numerous other teams who will be pursuing Murray, as he will likely be taking the veteran minimum contract with the Cardinals still owing him $36.8 million in guaranteed money.

Kyler Murray provides multiple challenges

The idea of signing Murray is a simple one on the surface. He is a quarterback with immense arm talent and has seen some success as the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. There have been some good moments in his career, including Offensive Rookie of the Year and two Pro Bowl appearances in his first three seasons.

Murray has a dynamic arm that can make every throw and is an escape artist who evades pressure from inside the pocket with ease. Some concerns throughout his career are difficult to overcome, and it starts by staying on the field.

Injuries have been a problem for Murray. He tore his ACL in 2022 and dealt with a foot injury that limited him to just five games. In the first two seasons, Murray didn’t miss a single game. Since the NFL went to 17 games in 2021, he’s missed time in four of five seasons.

  • 2021: 3 games missed
  • 2022: 6 games missed
  • 2023: 9 games missed
  • 2024: 0 games missed
  • 2025: 12 games missed

One of the biggest knocks on McCarthy as a quarterback is his inability to stay on the field. He’s missed 25 of his first 35 career regular season and playoff games, and it’s been the most difficult aspect of the quarterback situation.

Size matters at quarterback

The second one is his size. Murray is listed at 5-10 and 207 pounds. It shows up in a big way at times that aren’t ideal. His height makes it difficult for him to not only see over the offensive line, but also get the ball over the line. His career passes batted down aren’t much higher than his contemporaries’, but the issue persists.

Because of his height, it will always persist to an extent. He does a good job of avoiding it well enough, but it is something he has to overcome, which a player like Smith doesn’t have to worry about.

It can also be limiting with throwing over the middle. In some offenses, that’s not a big deal, but it is for O’Connell. He thrives throwing over the middle of the field. Murray inherently doesn’t throw a ton over the middle of the field. He thrives the most in Air Raid-based offenses, from Lincoln Riley to Kliff Kingsbury.

In his last full season with Drew Petzing as his offensive coordinator, Murray threw over the middle with a depth of 10+ yards 44 times. He completed 32 of them for 501 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Among those, he had three big-time throws and one turnover-worthy play.

Here’s where it could be an issue. In his one season as the Vikings’ starting quarterback, Sam Darnold threw the ball in that same area 104 times. He completed 61 of those passes for 1,316 yards, eight touchdowns, and four interceptions. He had 14 big-time throws and 11 turnover-worthy plays. O’Connell has shown a willingness to accept some issues with turnovers because those passes chase explosives.

Those issues may not matter for Kyler Murray

There has been a lot of discussion about Murray’s ability to throw over the middle of the field and how he’s not a scheme fit for the Vikings. In all honesty, I’ve been at the forefront of those discussions.

The reality is that it may not even matter. Reporting from The Athletic’s Alec Lewis in February revealed that O’Connell removed a lot of the middle of the field passing concepts to make things easier for McCarthy.

“Applying touch to passes — a pre-draft question the Vikings themselves had — remained a struggle. In 2025, Minnesota also removed most of its over-the-middle passing concepts throughout the season to keep his line of sight as simple as possible,” wrote Lewis. “These limiting factors may not be deal breakers over the long haul. That said, NFL executives and coaches rarely have the benefit of viewing everything in the context of the long haul.”

If O’Connell did that for his first-year starting quarterback, why wouldn’t he do that for Murray? Maximize his ability to throw to the outside, get him on the move, and maybe throw in some read-option plays to keep defenses honest.

The schematic issues are a problem, but they will only resonate if O’Connell keeps the offense the same for Murray when he has a history of adapting to the quarterback he has to start.

At the veteran minimum, it’s worth seeing what happens, and if it works, the Vikings could have their guy for the next 5-10 years.

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