All Signs Point to Vikings as Arizona Officially Releases Kyler Murray

With Murray now a free agent, every major insider is hinting that he's expected to end up in Minnesota.

Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) passes against the Minnesota Vikings in the second quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

This appears to be happening.

Kyler Murray was officially released by the Arizona Cardinals at 3 p.m. central time on Wednesday as the NFL's new league year began. At the same time that happened, just about every major insider who covers the league put out a similar tweet, presumably based on the same sourcing.

"With Murray now free, the Minnesota Vikings are considered the overwhelming favorite to sign him," ESPN's Adam Schefter wrote. "In the words of one source: 'I’d be shocked if he’s not a Viking.'"

"Now that Kyler Murray’s release from the Cardinals is official, the Minnesota Vikings are expected to target him as a veteran addition to their QB room," wrote The Athletic's Dianna Russini. "He will be taking a visit to Minnesota and getting a physical."

"The Vikings plan to make a push for Kyler Murray and are the favorite to land the former No. 1 overall pick," NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport said. "Finally released today by Arizona, Murray will take his time and wants to speak with interested teams. But Minnesota is the team to beat."

In other words, it would be pretty stunning — and arguably catastrophic — if Murray doesn't become a Viking at this point. He'll be visiting TCO Performance Center, as Russini noted, and it would be a shock if the Vikings can't close the deal from there. After all, they can pitch him on playing for Kevin O'Connell, throwing passes to Justin Jefferson, and getting back to the playoffs on a team that also boasts one of the NFL's best defenses.

Murray is widely expected to sign a one-year contract for the veteran's minimum of $1.3 million. He's owed a fully guaranteed $36.8 million from the Cardinals this season, and because of the offset language in that contract, there's no incentive for him to ask for any more than the minimum from his next team. Anything the Vikings paid him over $1.3 million would reduce what Arizona owes him.

As he's said before, Pelissero tweeted on Wednesday that if Murray does sign with the Vikings, "he would compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting job." Frankly, we have a very hard time believing that to be the case. One of the two is a two-time Pro Bowler who has over 20,000 career passing yards and over 150 total touchdowns in 87 NFL starts. The other is a 23-year-old with 10 career starts who was statistically one of the worst QBs in the league when healthy last season.

The Vikings still need to consider backup plans. But as of Wednesday, it feels fair to say the odds are above 90 percent that Kyler Murray will be signing with Minnesota.

This has a chance to be a lot of fun in 2026.