First, a correction that a lot of people have wrong: Kyler Murray’s concussion happened in Week 1, not Week 2. The Vikings beat the Packers 39-22 in their season opener, and Murray was gone before the first quarter ended.
He was 11 plays into his Minnesota debut. On a third-and-7 scramble he slid, and Lukas Van Ness and Javon Bullard arrived anyway. Teammates described Murray’s arms locking into the fencing posture that anyone who watches football has learned to dread. He finished 3 of 5 for 18 yards with an interception and did not return.
Kevin O’Connell declined to blame Green Bay for the hit, calling it a violent, physical play. The Vikings medical staff diagnosed the concussion on site.
How Murray ended up in Minnesota in the first place
This was not a trade. Arizona released Murray, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019 and the guy who started 87 games for that franchise across seven seasons. Minnesota signed him in March to a one-year deal worth $1.3 million, the veteran minimum for players with seven-plus seasons.
Arizona is still on the hook for the rest of his $36.8 million salary for 2026. The Vikings also handed him a no-tag clause, which means he walks into unrestricted free agency in 2027 no matter what happens between now and January.
Murray turned 29 last month and won the camp competition over 23-year-old J.J. McCarthy. That decision looked shaky to plenty of people in August. It looks shakier now.
The protocol timeline and who is under center Sunday
Murray was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice and has reached at least phase 3 of the NFL’s five-phase concussion protocol, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. O’Connell said he wants Murray cleared by Friday in order to play Sunday at Soldier Field against the Bears.
If Murray is not cleared, Carson Wentz starts. Here is the part Minnesota fans should sit with: Wentz was excellent in relief, going 12 of 19 for 133 yards and three touchdowns while the Vikings ripped off 29 unanswered points. Sunday would be the 100th start of his career.
Does this actually derail the Vikings?
No. Not close.
Minnesota built a roster where the quarterback is supposed to be the least interesting part of the operation. O’Connell has turned every passer who has walked through that building into a functional starter, and Wentz proved in one half that the floor here is a win over a good Packers team.
Sunday is the easy part. The longer worry is what repeat head injuries do to a quarterback whose entire game runs on improvisation and scrambling, which is exactly the style that got him hurt 11 plays into his Vikings career. Ask him to protect himself more and you lose the thing that made him worth starting over McCarthy.
So the honest read is that the Vikings are fine in September and exposed in December. If Murray misses one game and comes back, nothing changes. If this becomes a pattern, Minnesota has a $1.3 million rental and a first-round pick sitting on the bench who was supposed to be the future.
Bet on Wentz starting in Chicago. Bet on Minnesota winning anyway.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.