By Rowan Fisher-Shotton0ShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.The Minnesota Vikings made one of the splashiest moves of the NFL offseason, signing former No. 1 overall pick Kyler Murray to a one-year veteran minimum deal worth just $1.3 million on March 12.
The Arizona Cardinals released their franchise quarterback after seven seasons and are still on the hook for the remaining $36.8 million of his guaranteed contract, which is how Minnesota was able to swoop in with such a low deal.
It was the definition of a low-risk, potentially massive-reward gamble for the Vikings, a team that just two years ago went 14-3, tied for the second-best record in the NFC behind Coach of the Year winner Kevin O'Connell.
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O'Connell made no promises after the signing. "It's March," he said the day Murray put ink to paper, who was immediately expected to be in the middle of a "true competition" with former 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy.
So far, however, it hasn't looked like much of one.
At the Vikings' first open OTA practices, beat writers watching Murray and McCarthy throw side by side described the gap between the two quarterbacks as "not particularly close."
Murray, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert, "made all of the best throws of the practice, demonstrating his downfield touch and accuracy."
Now, Murray just received another vote of confidence.
As part of ESPN's "100 Days to the 2026 Season" feature released on Monday, June 1, NFL analyst Mike Tannenbaum went all-in, predicting Kyler Murray to win Comeback Player of the Year.
"Murray steps into an ideal system with coach Kevin O'Connell and receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison," Tannenbaum wrote. "I think the Vikings can go 11-6, clinch the NFC North, and win a playoff game with the former Cardinals QB at the helm."
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The AP's NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award honors a player who demonstrates resilience by overcoming "illness, physical injury, or other circumstances that led him to miss playing time the previous season."
The AP tightened this definition in 2024, highlighting that it isn't for guys who just had a down year. You have to have missed time due to injury or illness.
Murray qualifies on every level. In 2025, he played just five games for the Cardinals before landing on injured reserve with a foot injury.
The award has also historically been dominated by quarterbacks, with names like Joe Burrow (twice), Joe Flacco, Geno Smith, Alex Smith, Ryan Tannehill, and Andrew Luck winning it in recent years.
Murray could easily join that list.
O'Connell is one of the NFL's most creative offensive minds, having already coaxed career years out of Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold in Minnesota. Now he gets Murray, a dual-threat weapon with a 67.1% career completion percentage and over 3,000 yards rushing in his career.
Pair that with Justin Jefferson, arguably the best wide receiver in football and an ascending Jordan Addison, along with other pass-catchers like Jauan Jennings and T.J. Hockenson, and this offense has the chance to be elite.
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