Kyler Murray’s hamstring issue will keep him out of a “Monday Night Football” showdown between the Minnesota Vikings and the Buffalo Bills, both of whom enter Week 9 tied for the best record in the NFL at 6-1.
Vikings veteran Carson Wentz will start in Murray’s stead for the second time this season, as Wentz also filled in for him in Week 2. At the time, Murray was out with a concussion he suffered early in the season opener, and Wentz quarterbacked Minnesota to a 9-3 victory over the Chicago Bears at a soggy Soldier Field.
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After last week’s road setback against the Detroit Lions, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell revealed Murray was dealing with hamstring tightness. A day later, O’Connell said the 29-year-old Murray was going through a full evaluation. Because of his hamstring soreness, questions were raised whether he’d be able to go for the Bills game.
O’Connell revealed on Thursday that Murray will be out and that he’s week-to-week with a hamstring strain. Placing him on injured reserve isn’t a consideration, O’Connell told reporters.
Granted, the defensively dominant Vikings are in first place in a hyper-competitive NFC North, but Murray’s play in Minnesota has been less than convincing.
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Through six appearances, the former Arizona Cardinals signal-caller came into Week 9 tied with the Seattle Seahawks’ Sam Darnold for 21st among all qualifying NFL passers this season in EPA per dropback (-0.10), one spot below beleaguered Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix (-0.07) in that department, according to Next Gen Stats.
And now that Murray’s sidelined again, the Vikings will get another glimpse of what the offense looks like with someone else under center, although O’Connell has remained committed to Murray as the team’s QB1 so far.
Minnesota inked Murray to a one-year deal, reportedly on the veteran minimum, this past offseason. It was a low-risk, high-reward decision, given that the Cardinals are responsible for paying most of the two-time Pro Bowler’s guaranteed salary this season.
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That said, the Vikings took a bigger gamble by trading J.J. McCarthy midseason. Albeit in the infancy of his run as the New York Giants’ starter, the still-23-year-old McCarthy has restored hope to Big Blue faithful.
McCarthy already stringing together longer stretches of impressive play with the Giants has some Vikings fans wondering if their organization gave up too quickly on a No. 10 overall pick, similar to how many Minnesotans lamented the franchise’s choice to let Darnold walk in free agency after he guided the team to 14 wins and back to the playoffs during the 2024 campaign. Darnold then, of course, helped Seattle win it all last time around.
Murray’s arrival in Minnesota made for a feel-good story. He got a clean slate and a chance to play for the team the Allen, Texas, native grew up rooting for.
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Except, with him piloting O’Connell’s offense, the Vikings have failed to appropriately complement a vaunted defense coordinated by Brian Flores.
Minnesota is 27th in points per game (20.0) and has put up more than 23 points only once. That was in Week 1 versus the Green Bay Packers, with Wentz playing most of a 39-22 win after Murray went out with his concussion. Wentz threw three touchdown passes that day.
He managed the game the following week in a wet Chicago, allowing Flores’ top-ranked unit to fuel a victory. The 33-year-old could be asked to do plenty more Monday night against a Bills team that’s led by Josh Allen and his high-powered attack.
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