Getty Head coach Kevin O'Connell of the Minnesota Vikings talks to Kirk Cousins.
The Minnesota Vikings put their future at the quarterback position in question by declining to take a team discount from Kirk Cousins and sent the 34-year-old veteran into a contract year.
Minnesota did their diligence in scouting the 2023 draft class but did not strike on a rookie quarterback who could be ready to take the reigns by next season.
Considering the Vikings haven’t picked higher than No. 18 overall in the Cousins era and have largely been out of range of drafting an elite prospect at quarterback, Minnesota has only one route of finding their next quarterback fifth-round pick Jaren Hall is not ready by next season: acquiring a veteran quarterback by trade or in free agency.
It’s rare for a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback to become available in free agency or by trade, but there is one who could be on the market by next year — Kyler Murray.
“The Kyler Murray thing, I think there’s some potential there if the Vikings are moving on from Kirk Cousins but they win too many games to get a high draft pick,” Matthew Coller said on a July 12 episode of “The Purple Insider” podcast.
“It’s not completely absurd to think that could be something of interest for the Vikings. The most likely scenario remains… the Vikings draft somebody [to succeed Cousins],” Coller said. “But if they end up with 10 wins and they’re in the playoffs and they can’t get one of the top quarterbacks [in the draft], then what do you do? You start investigating other ways around that.”
Coller acknowledged his reservations about Murray’s leadership skills and consistency, however, a change of scenery for Murray may pay dividends in Minnesota given the amount of talent the Vikings have on offense.
“I also think it’s the closest you’d be to being a Super Bowl contender in a really long time — to have a quarterback with that talent to pair with Justin Jefferson and the rest of the playmakers they have,” Coller said.
Dysfunctional Cardinals Have Hindered Kyler Murray
GettyArizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray.
The Arizona Cardinals are entering a massive reshuffling of the organization the ousting of head coach Kliff Kingsbury and general manager Steve Keim this offseason.
The new front office stripped the team of its most-talented players and should be in contention to tank for consensus No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams with Murray out indefinitely while he recovers from an ACL tear. Murray may soon be trade bait for any team willing to take on the $230 million contract he signed in July 2022.
The 2019 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Murray has had some tremendous highs, playing himself into MVP conversations at the start of the 2021 season when the Cardinals started the season 10-2. Murray eventually got hurt as Arizona cooled down and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The following season, Murray’s relationship with Kingsbury deteriorated, leading to a 3-8 start where Murray surpassed 280 passing yards just twice before his hamstring injury.
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Murray’s athleticism, arm talent and scrambling ability are traits that cannot be coached, but his leadership has been called into question amid the dysfunction in Arizona.
The new regime hasn’t shown it’s prioritizing its relationship with Murray either, hiring a defensive-minded head coach in Johnathon Gannon this offseason. Murray has admittedly shown moments of immaturity, lashing out on the sidelines. Those outbursts are also part of his passion to win after he demanded Kingsbury give him more freedom at the line of scrimmage.
Murray recently said he’s become wiser after the tumultuous 2022 season.
“I’ve got to respect the person or understand the ins and outs or the rhymes and reasons for what we are doing,” Murray said on the “Flight Plan” podcast, per NFL.com. “I’m going to listen. I’m going to be coachable and I’m going to do it to the best of my ability, but if the (expletive) ain’t working, at some point, we all have to look in the mirror.
“As far as growing from my rookie year to now, learning how to be one with your emotions, understanding how to talk to people. Some people are able to take the harsh way, and I am naturally that way, or do I need to give them a little love and that’s part of the quarterback position. … And (learning) what can I do better, how can I be better, how can I make the guys around me better? It’s a team sport. We all have to be locked in.”
Kirk Cousins Keeps Top QB Prospects Out of Reach for Vikings
GettyKirk Cousins’ high floor has kept the Vikings outside of range of drafting the top quarterbacks in recent years.
During the pre-draft process, KSTP’s Darren Wolfson noted that the Vikings did the most legwork on the upcoming quarterback draft class since they selected Teddy Bridgewater back in 2014.
However, there’s still no successor to Cousins in sight.
After passing on Will Levis, a projected top-five pick who fell to the second round, the new Vikings regime under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah showed it’s not willing to select any quarterback for the sake of having a backup plan for Cousins. They want to get it right.
That entails selecting a bonafide future franchise quarterback, which is rarely found outside the top 10. But getting inside the top 10 has proven difficult given the high-floor Cousins has brought the franchise.
Trading up from the middle of the draft will prove costly, but it’s the only route if the Vikings hope to draft their next franchise quarterback.
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