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The speculation involving the Minnesota Vikings and Kyler Murray remains strong as free agency approaches. While Murray isn’t a free agent yet, the Arizona Cardinals appear to be weighing his future and whether or not to cut ties with him and give both parties a fresh start.
If the Cardinals decide to cut Murray, the former No. 1 overall pick will be at a crossroads. As a result, heading to the Vikings would make sense as Minnesota played a role in the resurgences of Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones.
Moreover, with Murray to Minnesota being a possibility, ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum believes that the QB should take an extra step if he is indeed released by Arizona and take a pay cut to ensure that the Vikings have no problems signing him.
“If I’m Kyler Murray, I am walking from Arizona to Minnesota, and say, ‘Kevin O’Connell, how much do I have to pay you?’” Tannenbaum said on the Feb. 20 edition of “Get Up.”
“Kevin is great with quarterbacks, and if I’m Kyler Murray, at his age and this inflection point of his career, I’d go invest a year or two, get coached up, and see what happens. With this offensive line, those weapons, to me, you’re not getting paid for this year. You’re investing in your future.”
Vikings Insider Gets Blunt About Kyler Murray
Moreover, the Vikings beat reporter for The Athletic, Alec Lewis, also hit on the economics regarding Murray, hinting that the signal-caller won’t be getting a lucrative offer from Minnesota.
“Some of [the contract talk] can become moot if Kyler Murray is eventually cut,” Lewis said on the Feb. 16 edition of The Alec Lewis Show. “If the Arizona Cardinals can’t find a trade partner and get to a point where it’s like they just have to make this move right now. If they did that, they could make it a post-June cut. It would be a massive dead cap hit that they are undertaking, but that would then leave Kyler Murray on the market, and it becomes a choice for him.
“Does he want a long-term deal with financial security that a place like [the New York Jets], which has $70 million in cap space, could be willing to provide? Or would he be willing to take the Daniel Jones-type option, where you’re taking a one-year, rental prove-it deal in a really good situation that could set you up for the future?”
Kyler Murray, Cardinals Need to Resolve Situation First
Nonetheless, Lewis believes that until Arizona decides whether to find a trade partner for Murray or bite the cap hit and cut him, the conversation can begin on whether he’d be a serious option for the Vikings.
“I’d say the Kyler Murray conversation is really going to be contingent upon, and the realistic component of it, in my opinion, is going to be contingent on how things work out with his contract and with the Arizona Cardinals,” Lewis added.
Since entering the NFL in 2019, Murray has thrown for 20,460 yards and 121 touchdowns, per StatMuse. Additionally, Murray has two Pro Bowl selections to his name and won Offensive Rookie of the Year. As a result, there’s talent there, and would Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell be able to get it out of him should a move to Minnesota happen?
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo
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