Why Some Patience is Required in Vikings' Pursuit of Kyler Murray

As things stand on Tuesday, the Vikings still appear to be the clear favorites to land former Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray.

It makes all kinds of sense for both parties. The Vikings would get a two-time Pro Bowl QB in his prime for a minimum $1.3 million salary due to the guaranteed money he'll be paid by the Cardinals this year. Murray would get to play for Kevin O'Connell and throw to Justin Jefferson as he looks to revive his career and get a big multi-year contract somewhere in 2027.

But for Vikings fans, some patience is required. Murray's widely-anticipated release from Arizona won't become official until the start of the new league year at 3 p.m. central time on Wednesday. And while he has already said goodbye to the Cardinals, they haven't publicly announced that he will be released — which means other teams aren't yet allowed to talk to him.

That differentiates Murray from someone like Tua Tagovailoa, who also won't be officially released until Wednesday afternoon. Because the Dolphins said goodbye to Tua on social media, he was able to talk to teams and quickly line up an agreement with the Atlanta Falcons.

"Yesterday, the Miami Dolphins took to Twitter and other forms of social media and officially said goodbye to Tua Tagovailoa, making it public that they were moving on from him," NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said. "That basically means that teams are now allowed to talk to him. He is being treated like a free agent. Even if he isn't officially released on the wire, he is basically free.

"That is not the case with Kyler Murray. He has not been announced as a free agent by the Arizona Cardinals, despite the fact that he took to Twitter and said goodbye himself. So that means teams that are interested — including the Minnesota Vikings, who I think it's fair to say are a favorite here — they have not yet been able to speak with him. I expect that to ramp up tomorrow, when his release is official. But until and unless the Arizona Cardinals go public with their plans to say goodbye to Kyler Murray, he is stuck in a little bit of a limbo situation."

Kyler Murray and his camp seem to be playing everything within the rules. Am told they will not discuss him with any other teams until he is officially released by the Cardinals. Could be why everything with him was so quiet today.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) March 10, 2026

Players with guaranteed money on their contracts cannot be released until the new league year begins. So at 3 p.m. central (4 p.m. eastern) on Wednesday, Murray — along with others like Tagovailoa and Geno Smith and Kirk Cousins — will officially hit the market. However, given that Kyler hasn't yet talked to the Vikings or any other teams, the expectation is that he's going to take a bit of time to go through the process and speak to multiple franchises.

"For Kyler Murray though, don't expect that it's quite like Tua where, at 4:01 he's released and at 4:05 he's got a new team," Tom Pelissero said on Good Morning Football. "Kyler Murray has not had a chance to interface with very many teams since he was back in the pre-draft process in 2019. He has never been a free agent. He is, by all accounts, a much different person than he was seven years ago. And given the fact that Kyler, like Tua, is going to take a one-year minimum contract ... it makes sense for him to, in essence, preview the 2027 free agent process.

"So I would anticipate, and if I'm his agent, I'm probably saying, all right, let's hear multiple pitches. Anybody who wants to talk to Kyler who might have a need now or a need next year, let's at least get a little bit of time on the phone, on a Zoom, whatever it might be. He will fully evaluate his options. Certainly, I anticipate there will be mutual interest between the Vikings and Kyler Murray. I would even say that the Vikings are the favorite. But this might take a day or two until we have something final."

Kyler Murray in 2024 | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

It makes sense for Murray and his representation to be deliberate about taking this opportunity to meet with a variety of teams. But ultimately, it's hard to find a more advantageous situation out there for him than the one in Minnesota, where he'd be joining a great coaching staff and a roster with enough talent to make a return to the playoffs a very realistic expectation.

Pelissero ended his report on GMFB with an interesting sentence.

"If it is in Minnesota," he said, "we immediately get one of the fascinating quarterback competitions in the NFL for 2026, when it will be Kyler Murray, the former No. 1 pick, going up against the Vikings' former first-round pick, J.J. McCarthy."

Let's be realistic about something: If the Vikings sign Kyler Murray, he will be their starting quarterback in Week 1 this fall, barring injury. It won't be a true competition, even if the Vikings might want McCarthy to view it that way. There's no realistic world in which J.J. beats out a former No. 1 overall pick with 20,000 passing yards, 3,000 rushing yards, over 150 touchdowns, and two Pro Bowls on his NFL resume.

Murray to the Vikings shouldn't be considered a stone cold lock. This is the NFL, where crazy things happen. But at this point, it would be a fairly major surprise if he winds up anywhere other than Minnesota. That just might not happen until Thursday, Friday, or even into the weekend.