The Minnesota Vikings will have a new QB under center once again as the Kyler Murray era gets underway in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 13 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Kyler Murray will be the latest veteran QB head coach Kevin O’Connell looks to rescue after having success with Sam Darnold in 2024 and even Daniel Jones, who was a backup in Minnesota. Nonetheless, he found success last season with the Indianapolis Colts before his injury.
Over the offseason, the Arizona Cardinals cut ties with the No. 1 pick, and this is a fresh start for him. While many see Murray finding success with O’Connell and the Vikings’ offensive weapons, NFL analyst Mark Schlereth wants to believe that will happen, but he has one key concern.
“I have one concern: Will you be able to get Kyler Murray to play on schedule and to fall in love with the boring?” Schlereth said on the Sept. 7 edition of “The OG Football Show.” “Because Kyler Murray has told me in a one-on-one production meeting, calling a game, ‘Yeah, I just want to run more. I want to make more plays. I want to get outside the pocket more.‘
“To be really good in this league, 70 percent of the time, and I just throw this number out there, you’ve got to be on schedule. You’ve got to do the boring. You’ve got to take what’s given, and then when things do break down, which they will, that’s when you go make plays.
“But when you play kind of 50-50, off schedule, on schedule, more mistakes happen eventually, inevitably, than big plays, and that’s Kyler Murray’s biggest problem in my mind.”
Kyler Murray Predicted to Find Success With Vikings
Still, in that same segment, host Trey Wingo is one of the believers that Murray will find success in Minnesota this season and lead to a major payday in the offseason.
“I think Kyler Murray is going to find his stride,“ Wingo added. “Justin Jefferson’s numbers are going to go way up this year and Kyler Murray’s going to get a fat paycheck after this season because of where he is and coaching matters. Coaching matters and he couldn’t be in a better spot when it comes to who’s going to be working with him, and that’s KOC up in Minnesota.”
Kyler Murray Gets Candid Message Ahead of First Start
Meanwhile, for FOX Sports radio host Carmen Vitali, it’s now or never for Murray to find that consistency and play at a level many expect he can.
“I think if he’s ever going to reach it, it’s going to be here, and he has every incentive to reach it and to go and be the best quarterback he can be at this point,“ Vitali said in a Sept. 3 appearance on the “Purple Insider“ podcast. “He’s playing on league minimum at this point, like right now, and he’s playing for his next contract. Whether or not that’s with the Vikings obviously remains to be seen.
“But for anybody, Kyler Murray wants to prove that he is a starting quarterback and he is a good starting quarterback in this league. I’m really excited to see, and I think that the ceiling for this team, and I’ve been saying it all offseason, the ceiling for this team is winning the division.”
Vikings QB Kyler Murray Handed One Key Concern Ahead of Packers Game