Kevin O’Connell announced that Carson Wentz will start on Monday night for the Minnesota Vikings, while Kyler Murray will be week-to-week with a hamstring strain. This can and should be interpreted as a ‘‘soft-benching’ which happened with J.J. McCarthy when he was struggling last year and also with Kyler Murray as the Cardinals looked to move on from him after he was injured last season. The reason to interpret it as a soft benching is because the Vikings offense continues to be anemic and the reason for the lack
of production is because Murray still isn’t comfortable or acclimated running the offense and that has led to missed opportunities. The Lions game last week was the clearest example of that.
Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner breaks down some of the issues that led to the missed opportunities for the Vikings offense in the Lions game, below. And while there is a variety of issues depending on the particular play, most of them center around Murray not progressing fast enough and/or not getting the ball out fast enough. This is a continuation of the same issue for Murray so far this season. He’s hesitant and really more concerned about making a mistake than making a play, and/or he simply isn’t confident enough or acclimated enough in the offense to get the ball out on time on many occasions. Whatever the reason, he’s playing a bit slow and that is resulting in missed opportunities.
For an experienced quarterback like Murray, who’s now halfway through the season, this simply isn’t good enough. Sure it can take some time to get acclimated, and it makes sense to be patient in that regard, but at this point things should be clicking more than they are. At some point either Murray can do it at a high-enough level or he can’t. It seems like the Vikings coaching staff is arriving at that point and the answer is that he can’t. It may be that the coaching staff, who has a lot of confidence in Carson Wentz’ ability to run the offense, is giving Murray some time away from the weekly game planning to figure some things out- although the bye-week would have provided that too- and perhaps come back with a fresh start.
But whether Murray gets another opportunity remains to be seen. That will depend partly on Wentz, who has his physical limitations, and how well he performs. But Wentz is more comfortable with the offense and at least mentally may be the better option right now. And the Vikings don’t have any commitment to Murray, either contractually or from a development standpoint, where they need to play him. If Wentz plays well enough to win, it wouldn’t be surprising if he continues as the starter.
Murray Won’t Be the Starter Next Year
What is happening now with Murray is the Vikings coaching staff losing confidence in him. Ultimately that has longer-term implications. At the beginning of the season, the assumption was likely that if Murray plays well, he’ll be extended. I doubt that is the plan going forward now. Next year’s starter is not on the roster. And that has implications for Nolan Teasley as he considers options before the trade deadline next week and managing the salary cap next year and beyond.
There will be several options for the Vikings next year at quarterback. Mac Jones may be high on the list, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Kirk Cousins, Anthony Richardson, Sam Darnold, Daniel Jones, and Justin Herbert, among others, may be available considerations. The last three are currently under contract with their teams next year but could nevertheless become available. And there is also the possibility of a draft pick too.
How It Impacts the Trade Deadline and Salary Cap Considerations
If Murray is unlikely to be extended, that means the Vikings may not necessarily have to prepare for a big salary cap that would likely come had Murray played well enough to be extended. I suspect most of the above options could be available for cheap or no more than medium quarterback contracts, which would be easier to manage. That may also influence what the Vikings may want to do as far as trading for a player(s) before the deadline. The Vikings have very limited cap space right now, so that is part of the considerations, but if the Vikings don’t have to absorb more than a mid-tier quarterback contract in the future, maybe they would be more open to trading for a player like Jonathan Taylor, who has a bigger cap hit the next two years. But the Vikings have no shortage of veterans on expiring contracts they may want to extend as well, so not paying as much for a quarterback may allow them to extend more of them.
Can Murray Still Make a Come Back?
Anything is possible, but Murray’s slow start doesn’t bode well for a spike in performance in the next two months, which is what it would take to earn an extension. There will be more options available this offseason and I expect the Vikings and new general manager Nolan Teasley will want to explore them. It seems unlikely that Murray will be the best option, even with an uptick in performance the rest of the season- if he gets a chance to return as the starter.
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