Kyler Murray will be back at quarterback for the Vikings when they take on the Buccaneers this Sunday and he won’t be playing with fears of a repeat of what happened in Week 1.
Murray was knocked out of the Vikings’ opener against the Packers after suffering a concussion while being hit by Lukas Van Ness and Javon Bullard at the end of a run. Murray said at a Thursday press conference that he felt back to himself “pretty quickly” and that the injury was a result of an unwieldy slide that put him in position to take a big shot to the head.
“I’ve really never had an issue protecting myself,” Murray said. “I’d like to think I’m one of the least-hit quarterbacks in the league as far as just protecting myself, getting the ball out and stuff like that. That’s new for me to have to go through that type of situation, because that’s the last thing I ever expected is to get a concussion just because I am very careful with being in open field and I know that was kind of an awkward slide situation, but I’m always trying to protect myself. . . . Van Ness was behind me you’re moving fast. You charge it to the game. I don’t judge anybody over there for anything that happened. It’s part of the game.”
Murray has missed plenty of other games with injuries over the course of his career, but none have come in a similar fashion as the Week 1 concussion and the Vikings will be hoping that he’ll be able to avoid a repeat in the weeks to come.
Vikings Clips
The Brian Flores case against the NFL and several teams (Dolphins, Texans, Giants, and Broncos) has recently focused on a document produced by Korn Ferry, in connection with a coaching search the company performed for the Ravens.
Korn Ferry and the NFL want the document to remain under seal and, as a result, not available to the public. Flores has challenged the designation.
In most federal civil cases, the presiding judge delegates disputes that arise during the discovery process to a magistrate judge. In this case, the magistrate judge has issued a ruling.
The ruling, as reported by Daniel Kaplan, is also under seal. For now.
The apparent reason for the decision is to give the party that lost the issue a chance to appeal to the presiding judge. And the fact that the decision is sealed doesn’t necessarily mean Korn Ferry lost. In order to issue the preliminary ruling, the magistrate judge likely had to quote from or otherwise describe key aspects of the currently secret document.
If the case goes to trial, the document undoubtedly will be presented and discussed in open court. But that’s a long way away. Securing the publication of the document sooner rather than later could create a bad P.R. look for the league, which could not only spark meaningful settlement talks but also prompt the media, the fans, and those with oversight of the league to sit up and take notice of the manner in which the sausage gets made.
For now, the question is whether the losing party on the issue of the sealed document will appeal within the 14-day time period for doing so. And whoever files the appeal necessarily will have been the losing party.
The Purple People Eaters are out. Young Nasty University is in.
Via Alec Lewis of The Athletic, the Vikings’ defensive tackles have adopted that name — “YNU” for short.
The founders are Domonique Orange, Ty Ingram-Dawkins, and Caleb Banks. Ingram-Dawkins, a fifth-round pick in 2025, and Banks, a 2026 first-rounder, are 23. Orange, a third-round selection in 2026, is 22.
“That group is a huge part of our success thus far,” Vikings edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel said, per Lewis. “Last year, after not stopping the run early, we put a huge emphasis on it. We’ve got young guys who are coachable, hard workers, and they do everything right.”
The Minnesota defense has held the Packers and Bears to 3.8 yards per carry. And, as Lewis notes, the Vikings have devoted only $8.43 million to their defensive line — that’s the second-lowest amount for any NFL franchise.
Against the pass, the Vikings are thriving on chaos, with a risk-reward blitz-happy scheme that, to date, has had plenty of rewards.
The players will get their rewards in time. Starting with breakout star pass rusher Dallas Turner, who’s eligible for a second contract after what could be an All-Pro season.
The Buccaneers are 0-2, capped by a 23-19 loss to the Browns in the Tampa Bay home opener. And the sluggish start is having an impact.
Via JoeBucsFan.com, Hall of Famer Ronde Barber said this week that the vibe in the building is not ideal.
“Look, the mood is not great,” Barber said on his WFLA show. ”There’s too many mistakes. There’s a lack of urgency, if you will, in my mind when I look at them going onto the field. There’s got to be a little bit of a sense of a defining characteristic of your team through Week 2. I don’t know what that is. It’s mistakes. It’s busts. It’s lack of execution.”
Barber believes the Bucs simply weren’t ready for the games that count.
“Week 2 can’t be the fifth preseason game,” Barber said. “At some point you have to start hitting your stride. And it doesn’t feel like they’re in their stride right now on either side of the ball.”
“I feel like for much of the secondary, especially the coverage unit, they’re so focused on what they’re trying to do that they don’t know how to do it now.”
Barber also singled out former Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone, who signed with the Bucs as a free agent.
“There’s some dynamic going on, whether it’s not understanding what his role is in the defense, not understanding angles, maybe not having enough tackles in the preseason, I don’t know what it is,” Barber said. ”Something is hamstringing this defense in critical moments.”
It puts even more pressure on the Buccaneers for Week 3, the second of three straight home games. The official attendance last week was 61,391 — nearly 8,000 below capacity. (Often, the actual attendance is lower than the reported number.)
By the time the game was over, the fans who stuck it out through the lengthy weather delay weren’t happy. Those who show up for the next game will be even saltier if the Bucs slip to 0-3.
That makes it a dangerous game for the Vikings, who have overachieved to get to 2-0. This is exactly the kind of game in which the team that has done better than expected can step into a pothole against a team that has done worse than expected.
Vikings running back Aaron Jones finished last Sunday’s win over the Bears with a brace on his knee and the issue was bothering him enough on Monday that he missed practice.
Jones ran 23 times for 105 yards in the 9-3 Vikings win and head coach Kevin O’Connell said that the team will we see how things play out over the next few days before making a call on Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers.
“He feels great. He’s bouncing around the building like normal, but it’s more so the knee,” O’Connell said at his press conference. “Just allowing that thing to turn over. He feels pretty good. We’ll just keep getting treatment around the clock and see if we can pick up his workload as the week goes on.”
Jordan Mason is on injured reserve and DeeJay Dallas was limited with a toe injury, which leaves sixth-round pick Demond Claiborne as the only healthy back on the active roster.
Linebacker Jake Golday (ankle) and punter Brett Thorson (right hamstring) also missed practice. Defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (oblique), right tackle Brian O’Neill (knee), defensive lineman Jalen Redmond (elbow), and center Nick Samac (knee) were limited participants.
Buccaneers first-round pick Rueben Bain missed the team’s first practice of the week on Wednesday.
Bain suffered a groin injury in last Sunday’s loss to the Browns. The linebacker also dealt with a shoulder injury this summer and he has recorded one tackle on 76 snaps so far this season.
Linebackers Anthony Nelson (shin) and Josiah Trotter (shoulder) also missed practice on Wednesday. Bain and Nelson are join on the edges by Yaya Diaby, Al-Quadin Muhammad, David Walker, and Yasir Holmes.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield (illness), wide receiver Jalen McMillan (knee), and cornerback Jacob Parrish (back) were all listed as full participants ahead of Sunday’s game against the Vikings.
The 49ers have made several roster moves on Wednesday.
San Francisco announced the club has signed defensive lineman Naquan Jones and placed defensive lineman C.J. West on injured reserve.
Jones, 28, was last with the Vikings’ practice squad after spending the offseason program and training camp with the Texans. He appeared in 12 games between the Chargers and Texans last year, recording 13 total tackles.
West started each of the first two games this season, recording five total tackles.
Additionally, San Francisco announced receiver Brandin Cooks and defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko Jr. have been signed to the practice squad. Cornerback Jakob Robinson has been released from the practice squad.
With Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart reportedly heading for season-ending knee surgery, the Giants have to make a decision about the quarterback position moving forward.
Option A: The Jameis Winston experience, and everything that goes along with it — good, bad, and/or highly entertaining.
Option B: Sign a free agent and see if he would be a better option to win games. At this point, however, most guys who are available would be unlikely to be able to start. Jimmy Garoppolo is the best option.
Option C: Make a trade.
There are some options. Here are some of the ones we noticed after perusing the various rosters and depth charts.
Derek Carr: He’s still on the Saints reserve-retired list. A trade would be required, if there’s mutual interest.
Anthony Richardson: If the Colts would be comfortable with Riley Leonard as the understudy to Daniel Jones, the Colts could finally get value for the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Joe Flacco: John Harbaugh won a Super Bowl with Flacco in Baltimore. And Flacco has repeatedly shown he can still play.
Shedeur Sanders: If the Browns are willing to move on from Sanders, Harbaugh possibly would want Shedeur. The Ravens were going to draft him in 2025, but he didn’t want to back up Lamar Jackson.
Mason Rudolph: He has played a lot, and he may not have much of a future in Pittsburgh.
Sam Howell: He’s the backup to Dak Prescott, and he has plenty of starting experience; the Cowboys could elevate Joe Milton III to take Prescott’s place.
J.J. McCarthy: Jim Harbaugh loves him. John Harbaugh could be intrigued by him.
Gardner Minshew: If the Cardinals are content to have Carson Beck as the backup to Jacoby Brissett, why not? He has 47 career starts.
Mac Jones: He’s in the last year of his contract, and he played well last year in place of Brock Purdy.
The Giants also could pilfer a player from a practice squad. Possibilities (not many) include Will Levis (Jets), Josh Johnson (Bengals), Joe Milton III (Cowboys), and Max Brosmer (Vikings).
In the fourth quarter of Sunday’s matchup between the Bears and Vikings, Chicago had a chance to tie the game with a short field goal.
But Isaiah Rodgers prevented that from happening by blocking Cairo Santos’ 23-yard attempt.
Now Rodgers has been named NFC special teams player of the week.
Rodgers’ block kept Minnesota ahead 6-3 at the time. Eventually, the Vikings won 9-3.
Rodgers previously won a player of the week award for his defense in Week 3 of last season.
With punter Brett Thorson set to miss some time with a hamstring injury, the Vikings have added a veteran punter to their practice squad.
Minnesota announced the team has signed Johnny Hekker to the unit.
Hekker, 35, spent the offseason program and training camp with Minnesota.
He spent the 2025 season with Tennessee, averaging 46.8 yards per punt with a 40.3-yard net average.
A four-time AP first-team All-Pro, Hekker has appeared in 229 career games for the Rams, Panthers, and Titans.
A fake punt specialist, Hekker has also completed 15-of-26 career passes for 193 yards with a touchdown.
The Vikings also signed running back Jaret Patterson to their practice squad and released receiver Trayvon Rudolph and cornerback Bryce Phillips from their practice squad.
