{"id":799863,"date":"2026-03-08T06:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T06:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/799863\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T06:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T06:25:16","slug":"can-former-oklahoma-qb-kyler-murray-follow-the-path-of-recent-super-bowl-champ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/799863\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Former Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray Follow the Path of Recent Super Bowl Champ?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5r\">Kyler Murray is looking for a fresh start.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5u\">Murray, who won the Heisman Trophy with Oklahoma in 2018 before becoming the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, will soon be a free agent. ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter<a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/48091996\/sources-cardinals-tell-kyler-murray-released-next-week\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> reported on March 3 <\/a>that the Arizona Cardinals will release Murray next week after seven seasons with the franchise.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5x\">Murray\u2019s release marks an abrupt end to a once-promising stint with the Cardinals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"60\">He made the Pro Bowl twice with Arizona and was named the NFL\u2019s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019. The Cardinals, though, have posted a losing record in each of the last four seasons, and Murray played only five games in 2025.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"63\">So what\u2019s next for the Oklahoma great?<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"66\">There are plenty of teams on the hunt for a new signal-caller, including the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"69\">Of those teams seeking a new quarterback, Minnesota is the one that has been linked to Murray. NFL insider Connor Hughes reported Friday that the Vikings are widely expected to sign the veteran quarterback.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Jets?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Jets<\/a> might not target just one quarterback in free agency. Belief from agents who met with them at the NFL Combine is that they prefer to add two &#8212; if they can. It&#8217;s similar to what the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Giants?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">#Giants<\/a> did a year ago (Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston).<\/p>\n<p>Kyler Murray was discussed,\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Connor Hughes (@Connor_J_Hughes) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Connor_J_Hughes\/status\/2029897284612231484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">March 6, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6f\">Kirk Cousins held down the Vikings\u2019 starting quarterback role for several years before he departed Minnesota in favor of Atlanta before the 2024 season.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6i\">To replace Cousins, Minnesota signed Sam Darnold in 2024. Darnold was excellent for the Vikings that year, throwing for 4,319 yards and 35 yards and leading the franchise to a 14-3 record.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6l\">Despite his stellar season, the Vikings let him walk in the offseason. The Seattle Seahawks signed him to a four-year deal in 2025, and in his first season with the team, Darnold led them to a Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6o\">This isn\u2019t to say that Murray is two years away from winning a Super Bowl. And there\u2019s no denying that the last couple of years have been a step in the wrong direction in terms of his career.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6r\">But seeing Darnold\u2019s success during his lone season in Minneapolis, it\u2019s possible that Murray can see a similar career resurgence.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6u\">Murray would compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting quarterback job. McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie campaign with an injury, played his first professional season in 2025 \u2014 and he struggled. McCarthy completed only 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, starting 10 games for the Vikings.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6z\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/oklahoma\/newsletter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up to our free newsletter<\/a> and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"74\">Though Murray only appeared in five games in 2025, his numbers were much more impressive than McCarthy\u2019s. The former Sooner completed 68.3 percent of his passes for 962 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"77\">Murray has shown that he is capable of performing in the NFL, and he would be surrounded by plenty of quality talent in Minnesota. The Vikings have two of the league\u2019s best young wide receivers \u2014 Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison \u2014 and have worked to solidify their offensive line in recent years.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7a\">Darnold was once an afterthought across the league.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-20\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7d\">He lasted only three years with the New York Jets despite being taken with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. After that, Darnold bounced from backup role to backup role before finally earning another chance as a starter with the Vikings \u2014 and now he\u2019s a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7g\">There are no guarantees that Murray will get a similar storybook result. But given Minnesota\u2019s recent experience with a once-forgotten signal caller, there\u2019s a chance that Murray can return to stardom if he opts to sign with the Vikings.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kyler Murray is looking for a fresh start. Murray, who won the Heisman Trophy with Oklahoma in 2018&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":799864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2078],"tags":[375,390,2604,1327,7,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-799863","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arizona-cardinals","8":"tag-arizona","9":"tag-arizona-cardinals","10":"tag-arizonacardinals","11":"tag-cardinals","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116192131347737014","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=799863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/799863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/799864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=799863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=799863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=799863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}