Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Kyler Murray took a step forward in the concussion protocol on Wednesday, as head coach Kevin O’Connell said that he would be limited during his press conference.

“Kyler’s going to be a limited practice participant today, working through the protocol. We’ll see how he responds and continue to rely on the medical folks in that regard,” said O’Connell.

Kyler Murray is limited in practice

I know the title says that Murray getting healthier isn’t necessarily the best thing for the Vikings, and we’ll get to that. Let’s look at what this means for the Vikings both short and long-term.

The concussion protocol is interesting to parse out, and important to his return to the field. The protocol is five steps:

Phase	Activity
One: Symptom Limited Activity	Routine daily activities/10 minutes on a stationary bike
Two: Aerobic Exercise	More than 20 minutes on a stationary bike or treadmill, supervised, with moderate to strenuous resistance
Three: Football Specific Exercise	Supervised non-contact football specific conditioning
Four: Club-Based Non-Contact Training Drills	Participation in all non-contact activities for the typical duration of a full practice
Five: Full Football Activity/Clearance	Full participation in practice and contact without restriction

Based on the information we have available, Murray is likely in phase three as a limited participant. It is possible that Murray is in phase four, and it’s something we won’t know for sure.

With him already back onto the practice field just 72 hours later, it’s a good thing for the Vikings when it comes to playing Sunday. However, rushing him back could end up becoming a problem long-term.

Concussions are very fickle injuries. When a player suffers one, they often have another one within the same season. Last season, cornerback Jeff Okudah suffered multiple concussion and was eventually placed on injured reserve. That is the danger when it comes to rushing Murray back onto the field. The worst thing that could happen is re-aggravating the injury.

Even if Murray is cleared from concussion protocol, is it going to be the best move to play him? Carson Wentz was good, albeit inconsistent, last week against the Green Bay Packers, so they don’t need to rush it.

O’Connell did emphasize that Friday would be the deciding day, which is important here, as they can wait until Saturday to officially make that decision.

“Yeah, I think Friday would be [the time], having the ability to go through the next couple days for sure, see where he’s at,” said O’Connell. “But at the same time, deferring so much to those medical professionals that he’s talking to, and he’s got to be medically cleared before we even have the conversation about playing in a game, and that’s how we’ve handled all of these situations, quarterback position or not. The protocol is the guiding light.”

How the Vikings handle this will be interesting, as you can make the argument that sitting him on Sunday would be smart no matter what. Friday afternoon will tell us a lot, and it will be huge.