It’s Kyler Murray Time

The first professional football game I attended was on December 17, 1978. Vikings - Raiders in Oakland. As a young Vikings fan from California, it was the first time I saw all of my heroes live and in person. Well, all but Alan Page as he was released earlier that season. That was a damn shame. Page was my favorite Vikings player. Still is. That Vikings - Raiders game was the last regular season game of Fran Tarkenton’s fantastic career. He was the Vikings first franchise quarterback. Due to an impossible amount of bad luck and perhaps some questionable decisions, the Vikings are still looking for their next franchise quarterback. Injuries wrecked the promising careers of the top contenders. Tommy Kramer, Daunte Culpepper, and Teddy Bridgewater. It’s been nearly 50 years since Tarkenton retired. I’ve spent all of those years dreaming of the day that the Vikings find the quarterback to take the baton from Tarkenton and consistently stay on the field for more than a decade. 

Earlier this offseason, I was absolutely against the Vikings signing Kyler Murray. I have faith in J.J. McCarthy. I will continue to have faith in the kid for as long as he’s on the roster. I can often be optimistic to a fault. I know that the Vikings must have a much stronger quarterback room than they had last year. It’s not a high bar. Murray would make the room much stronger. It’d be nice if it’s made even stronger with the re-signing of Carson Wentz. That’s a decision for another day. Today’s decision concerns Kyler Murray. Many reports have him in Minnesota for a visit with the Vikings decision-makers. After dealing with the cheapness of the Arizona Cardinals for the past seven years, TCO Performance Center should feel like Valhalla in comparison. That’s gotta be a perk for keeping him in the building. Most of the talking heads across the league see the Vikings-Murray union as pretty much a done deal. There’s been too much history of “done deals” not being “done deals” for me to be settled until Murray has signed a contract. If that happens, I want to see a quarterback competition. I don’t want to see the Vikings quarterback job simply handed to Murray upon signing. I didn’t like seeing the job seemingly handed to McCarthy last year. A legitimate competition would bring the best out of everyone involved. Most would expect Murray to win the competition. He has the experience, the talent and the first-pick-in-the-draft pedigree. No matter who wins the competition, the Vikings 2026 starting quarterback will be better for it. 

Even if Kyler Murray is signed and wins the Vikings starting quarterback job, it’s not the end of J.J. McCarthy’s time in Minnesota. He’s only 23. Aaron Rodgers was 25 when he became the Green Bay Packers starter. Steve Young was 30 when he finally got his Hall of Fame started as the starter with the San Francisco 49ers. Kurt Warner was 28 when a Trent Green injury gave him a starting opportunity. McCarthy has the talent to be a long-time starter. Maybe he’s ready this year. Maybe he just needs to let everything slow down a bit. Who knows? I do know that the Vikings quarterback situation will be much better and the team will be much better if Kyler Murray is signed. I didn’t believe that a couple months ago. I believe it now.