As they prepare for their third game of the 206 NFL season, the quarterback carousel for the Minnesota Vikings has spun once again.
At his press conference yesterday, head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that quarterback Kyler Murray had officially cleared the league’s concussion protocol and would start for the team on Sunday when they travel to central Florida to take on the 0-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Murray played just 11 snaps in the Vikings’ Week 1 opener against the Green Bay Packers before departing
after taking a shot to the head from Javon Bullard during a slide attempt following a scramble. Murray went straight to the locker room and was diagnosed with a concussion. He was relieved for the remainder of the game by Carson Wentz, and Wentz started last week’s game against Chicago when Murray did not clear protocol in enough time to play.
The Vikings’ offense has had its struggles in the first two games. They put up 39 points against the Packers, but three of their touchdown drives came on possessions of less than 30 yards thanks to a Myles Price kick return and a pair of Green Bay turnovers. Against Chicago, they managed just three Will Reichard field goals, but that was enough to get the job done thanks to a stifling performance by Brian Flores’ defense. Now, they’ll likely need a much bigger offensive performance against a Tampa Bay team that figures to be in desperation mode following a pair of season-opening losses.
The depth chart figures to go back to what it was in Week 1, with Wentz serving as the primary backup to Murray and J.J. McCarthy serving as the emergency quarterback in the event that both Murray and Wentz get injured.
Kyler Murray will be back in the saddle on Sunday in Tampa Bay, folks. Are you excited about it? Let us know!
