EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray began the week in the NFL concussion protocol, continuing his recovery from an illegal hit to the head that forced him out of his first game with the team in the first quarter.
Murray arrived on Monday at Vikings headquarters “feeling pretty good,” according to coach Kevin O'Connell, but it was far too soon to assess his chance of playing on Sunday at Chicago.
“We'll defer to the medical
folks and that protocol for how the week goes,” O'Connell said. “We'll just take it a day at a time.”
Murray's debut with Minnesota lasted 11 plays. At the end of a third down run that ended well short of the sticks, Murray had the right side of his helmet smacked hard by Green Bay safety Javon Bullard's lowered shoulder with the quarterback already ducking toward the turf to try to avoid contact. Bullard was penalized for unnecessary roughness.
Murray eventually walked off slowly under his own power, but Carson Wentz took the rest of the afternoon and helped lead the Vikings to a comeback victory by scoring the last 29 points of the game.
Murray had three of his last four seasons with Arizona cut short by significant lower-body injuries, a torn ACL in his knee in late 2022 and a mid-foot sprain in 2025.
As for how long the Vikings are willing to wait this week for Murray to exit the concussion protocol before determining whether he can start or if Wentz will, that's not yet clear. Because quarterbacks already wear red non-contact jerseys, Murray could potentially get significant practice repetitions before he's fully cleared.
Murray took part in team meetings and video review of the Green Bay game on Monday.
“We'll just see how he's doing and take it a day at a time and make that determination when the time comes,” O'Connell said.
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