With the Vikings signing quarterback Kyler Murray, there’s a vague sense that the starting job in Minnesota is his to lose. Which, if that happens, will mean that J.J. McCarthy has lost his starting job.
Lost in the arrival of Murray is the question of McCarthy’s potential reaction to it. The best response will be to welcome the challenge, embrace the competition, and keep working on getting better.
Still, McCarthy may believe he can’t win the competition. That Murray will be given the job. That McCarthy’s third season in the NFL will be spent on the bench, waiting for Murray to either face-plant or get injured or leave in free agency in 2027, thrusting McCarthy back into the role.
McCarthy eventually will speak to someone, somewhere. And there could be a disconnect between what he says publicly and thinks privately.
Last year, when the Vikings were trying to figure out what to do about their quarterback depth chart, there was a concern that McCarthy would possibly ask to be traded, if Sam Darnold or Daniel Jones returned, or if Aaron Rodgers had been signed. And while McCarthy’s body of work in his first season as QB1 (10 starts, 1,632 yards, 11 touchdown passes, 12 interceptions, passer rating of 72.6) hardly guarantees him anything, he could still be miffed about his situation.
There’s been no discussion of a possible McCarthy trade. There’s been no indication that he wants one, that the Vikings are interested in trading him, or that another team would do a deal. His only chance to be a starter, based on their current depth charts, would be in Arizona or Pittsburgh.
He could, in theory, serve as the bridge quarterback for Fernando Mendoza in Las Vegas, if the Raiders prefer not to throw the presumed No. 1 overall pick into the fray right away. McCarthy’s salary for 2026 is a very affordable $2.78 million.
Murray has been the recent focus in Minnesota. Presumably, it’ll be a fair and open competition between him and McCarthy. If, however, McCarthy believes it’s a formality that Murray will be the Week 1 starter, things could get awkward.
Nothing will happen unless someone wants to trade for McCarthy. Maybe, if/when it’s clear McCarthy won’t be the starter in Minnesota, someone will consider trying to trade for him to be the backup. And McCarthy may decide that he wants a fresh start after two lackluster seasons with the Vikings.
The Cardinals have a new returner.
Arizona agreed to terms with Devin Duvernay on a one-year deal worth up to $2.5 million, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report.
Duvernay, 28, spent last season with the Bears, and he averaged 26.7 yards on 40 kickoff returns and 11.0 yards on 21 punt returns. He had only five targets as a wide receiver, catching two passes for 26 yards and a touchdown.
He entered the NFL as a third-round pick of the Ravens in 2020, and he earned Pro Bowl honors in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, Duvernay was also an All-Pro returner.
For his career, Duvernay averages 11.8 yards on punt returns and 25.4 yards on kick returns, with two career kickoff returns for touchdowns.
Duvernay will replace Greg Dortch, who remains a free agent, as the team’s primary returner.
In four years on the job, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has worked with eight different starting quarterbacks. The ninth one could be the most intriguing.
Kyler Murray arrives, seven years after entering the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick in the draft — and four years after the Cardinals permanently poisoned their relationship with him by jamming a homework clause into his second contract. He has more raw talent than any of the others with whom O’Connell has worked.
Yes, there are flaws. His height, for starters. It’s far below prototypical, and it creates a real challenge when it comes to seeing through the wall of humanity in front of him. It’s the kind of obstacle O’Connell will embrace, scheming plays to get Murray in position to spot the open targets and/or to make him trust what he can’t visually acquire. At times, it could be like flying a plane with just the instruments.
Regardless, Murray can make the throws. He can buy time with his feet. And, if all else fails, he can spot an opening and put the pedal to the metal.
Of the quarterbacks who have started under O’Connell — Kirk Cousins, Josh Dobbs, Nick Mullens, Jaren Hall, Sam Darnold, J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer — Hall is the closest comparison to Murray. At six feet, Hall is only two inches taller than Murray. Like Murray, Hall was regarded as a dual-threat quarterback.
The Vikings made Hall a fifth-round pick in 2023. And while it didn’t work for Hall in Minnesota (he got the first start after Cousins tore an Achilles tendon in 2023, and Hall suffered a concussion at the end of a nine-play, 74-yard drive that resulted in a field goal), Murray has a much better arm — and much fleeter feet. (Hall, after spending 2024 with the Seahawks, is preparing for his first season in the UFL, with the Birmingham Stallions.)
Then there’s the difference between the Cardinals and the Vikings, as overall organizations. Beyond the ridiculous decision to reduce to writing an expectation that Murray show a greater commitment to his craft, the Cardinals have been among the group of dysfunctional organizations that more often than not find themselves jockeying for position in the top ten of the draft. Now, Murray lands with a team that typically lands in the middle of the pack, with an every-other-year trend (generally) of getting to the playoffs.
And, yes, the Vikings are less than 15 months removed from a winner-take-all Week 18 game for the top seed in the NFC.
In recent years, we’ve seen several quarterbacks find success with a team other than the one that drafted them. From Geno Smith to Baker Mayfield to Darnold to Daniel Jones, a change of scenery, of coaching, of teammates, of organization can unlock a higher level of performance.
Murray, of course, has already played at a high level. He was the offensive rookie of the year. He qualified for the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021. His second contract resulted in a new-money annual average that put him at $46.1 million, a click above the Deshaun Watson deal, which had matched Patrick Mahomes for the top APY of $45 million. No one suggested that the Cardinals had overpaid.
Of course, the dip started that same year. But Murray didn’t implode; he simply didn’t play as well as he had during his first three seasons. Along the way, coach Kliff Kingsbury was fired and replaced by Jonathan Gannon, who was recently fired after three seasons and a 15-36 record.
So was it Murray or was it the Cardinals? The Vikings have made a low-money bet ($1.3 million) on it being the latter. And if O’Connell can get Murray back to doing what he did in 2019 through 2021, the Vikings could end up with the best overall player at the quarterback position that they’ve had since O’Connell arrived in 2022.
They finished 2025 with five straight wins and somehow escaped the basement of the ultra-competitive NFC North, thanks largely to a defense orchestrated by Brian Flores. And while the entire roster is dealing with a cap-driven overhaul, plenty of players who know the system well will be back.
Ultimately, how things go in 2026 will depend on how the quarterback position goes. Which will depend on whether O’Connell can coax enough out of Murray — first to position him to win the starting job and second to help propel the team to victories.
Last month, retired quarterback Derek Carr said he’d return to football for a chance to play with a Super Bowl contender.
As of Scouting Combine week, the Saints hadn’t heard from any team regarding a potential trade for Carr’s contract rights. Through the first week of free agency, we’re told, the Saints still haven’t gotten any inquiries.
In the interim, plenty of teams with needs at the quarterback position have filled them, from the Dolphins (Malik Willis) to the Jets (Geno Smith) to the Vikings (Kyler Murray) to the Falcons (Tua Tagovailoa).
With the Raiders presumably waiting to make Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, only two teams currently have a hole in the QB1 spot: the Steelers and the Cardinals.
The Cardinals, with all due respect, aren’t a Super Bowl contender. The Steelers arguably aren’t, either. In a wide-open AFC, they could be.
Carr becomes a potential option in Pittsburgh if Aaron Rodgers decides not to play for the Steelers again in 2026, and if they don’t land Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the first round of the draft. (Some in league circles think the Steelers will take him if he’s on the board when Pittsburgh makes the 21st overall pick.)
For now, there are no takers for Carr, if he were to unretire. Injuries could change that; if a starter on a contender suffers a serious injury before the trade deadline, Carr becomes a potential alternative to the next man up on the depth chart.
The Texans are adding another piece to their offensive line.
Evan Brown, a guard who was cut by the Cardinals this week, has signed a one-year deal with the Texans, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The much-maligned Texans offensive line also added free agent offensive tackle Braden Smith this week. Improving the line has been a top priority in Houston.
The 29-year-old Brown started 28 games at guard in Arizona the last two seasons. He has also spent time with the Seahawks, Lions, Browns, Dolphins and Giants.
