Quite a few outsiders proceed to consider it’s a matter of when and never if the Minnesota Vikings will identify free-agency signing Kyler Murray their 2026 Week 1 beginning quarterback over third-year professional J.J. McCarthy.
Throughout a Wednesday look on “The Wealthy Eisen Present,” former NFL quarterback and present analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick shared a warning for the Vikings about Murray’s future.
Will Kyler Murray’s alleged points comply with him to Minnesota?
“I feel his greatest 12 months with Minnesota can be his first 12 months, and in the event that they preserve him after that, it’s going to path off as a result of a number of the points that got here up in Arizona are going to be the identical points that comply with him,” Fitzpatrick mentioned about Murray, per Eduardo Razo of Heavy.
Fitzpatrick seemingly was referencing how Murray’s work ethic was routinely questioned and criticized throughout his tenure with the Arizona Cardinals, which ran from the 2019 draft via the 2025 marketing campaign. This previous winter, one in every of Murray’s former teammates insisted that no less than the New York Jets wouldn’t “need Kyler Murray as [their] quarterback.” Later within the offseason, former NFL govt Louis Riddick brazenly questioned Murray’s “dedication” and “management.”
It is also value noting that Murray has a regarding damage historical past. Most lately, he made simply 5 begins final season earlier than the Cardinals shut him down due to a lingering foot concern.
Why Kyler Murray will not be an issue for the 2026 Vikings
“I don’t know that it’s a maturity concern,” Fitzpatrick added through the phase. “I simply assume, with Kyler Murray, what are his strengths? All of the issues that you may measure, these are the issues that he’s at all times been unbelievable at. I feel it’s simply been a number of the intangibles the place he has struggled, becoming right into a locker room and having the ability to elevate a staff to the following degree. So I simply assume in 12 months 1, you’re
not going to have to fret about these issues as a result of they’ll maintain themselves. It’s simple in 12 months 1 as a result of all the pieces is new. As you go on in the identical spot for a number of years, these issues turn into way more necessary. That’s what I’m saying as to why I feel this 12 months goes to be nice, nevertheless it’s going to be a one-year experiment that begins out nice and tails off from there.”
Murray’s contract features a no-franchise tag provision, so whether or not or not he’s with the Vikings right now subsequent 12 months will not be Minnesota’s name. Such discussions could be punted down the street for now, as Murray hasn’t but defeated McCarthy within the competitors for the beginning job that can resume when coaching camps open later in July.
