“Always Been a Player”: O’Connell Discusses Vikings’ Decision to Sign Kyler Murray
The Minnesota Vikings could be one of the top teams in the NFL this season.
It wasn’t too long ago that the Vikings tied for the best record in the NFL at 14-3. They did so during the 2024 season with Sam Darnold at quarterback. They were one of the more complete teams in the NFL, ranking ninth in offense and fifth in defense during that season.
However, things hit the floor in a bad way last season. While the Vikings finished the season respectively at 9-8 — courtesy of a five-game win streak to end the year — they were never in playoff contention, and J.J. McCarthy ranked towards the bottom of the league in just about every major passing category.
As a result, the Vikings made a major move, signing former Pro Bowl quarterback Kyler Murray to compete with McCarthy for the starting job. Murray had struggled with injuries in recent seasons, appearing in just five games during the 2025 season. However, he threw 21 touchdowns against 11 interceptions for a 93.5 passer rating as recently as the 2024 season.
During his best year — when he led the Cardinals to the playoffs and clinched a Pro Bowl bid — Murray threw 26 touchdowns with 3,971 passing yards, 819 rushing yards, and 11 touchdowns.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell recently took the time — on behalf of his participation in the American Century Championship, which takes place July 10-12 — to speak on why Minnesota made the move for Murray.
“Kyler has always been a player. I’ve known him for a long time, and obviously having coached against him at multiple spots, and the talent you talked about bringing that different dimension,” said O’Connell in a one-on-one interview with R.org.
“I think what he’s really done over seven years in the NFL is really maintain that dimension. But also the growth, the way he sees the field, the way he can throw with anticipation, and ultimately where he’s at in his career is a unique time.
Having had the success that he had at his previous stop and ultimately wanting to build upon that and us having the opportunity to bring him to Minnesota, it felt like a great fit.”
Murray’s Fit in Minny
The Vikings are also bringing back veteran quarterback Carson Wentz, a former franchise quarterback and MVP candidate who started five games for Minnesota last season. O’Connell spoke on how Murray has fit with Wentz and McCarthy, who is a former first-round draft pick that was expected the be the long-term solution as the franchise quarterback for the Vikings.
“It has been a great fit throughout the spring right alongside J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz in our quarterback room,” said O’Connell. “We feel like Kyler’s going to raise the quarterback room up, create a super competitive situation.”
While a lot is to be determined from now until the end of training camp and the preseason, it’s clear that there is no favorite and that the 28-year-old Murray will have every opportunity at winning the starting job and leading a stacked Vikings offensive core that features the likes of Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson.
“But at the same time, guys we’ve had a lot of success with different veteran quarterbacks at different stages of their career, whether it was Sam Darnold or Kirk Cousins, and now we want to do everything we can to provide Kyler Murray with a great opportunity and see what he can do with it,” said O’Connell of Murray.
O’Connell’s Outlook for American Century Championship
As mentioned before, O’Connell will be participating in the American Century Championship, the biggest annual celebrity golf tournament out there. The event will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock. The Vikings head coach is being given 200-to-1 odds of winning.
“So you could have told me the odds were 5,000-to-1 and I would have believed you,” said O’Connell. “I’m just trying to go out there and more than anything, have a great time because this is such a critical time of year for me to rest up, recharge and make sure I’m at my best for our team when we go back to training camp just a few days after we leave Lake Tahoe. But at the same time, I’m looking forward to feeling what it’s like to try to hit some good golf shots in front of some people and make some putts.”