Friday Mailbag: So... Kyler?

Vikings fans want to know what's next at quarterback

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By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday, everyone! So much for a slow week before free agency, huh? Plenty to discuss. Let’s dive in…

Joshua S… Say they get Kyler. We hear questions about “fit” and KOC’s pliability — even though good coaches adapt to their players all the time. Conceptually, how much would KOC need to change/tailor the passing game to fit Murray’s capabilities/strengths? How much of an offseason alteration of the playbook would we be talking based on Kyler’s over-the-middle and deep passing analytics (and height)? I just don’t believe it would be that drastic given Kyler’s general timing and accuracy throwing ability.

There’s a lot of stuff with Kyler that I think is misconstrued. People have not watched any Kyler Murray games so they think he literally cannot toss a football in the middle of the field at all but that’s not true.

In 2024, per PFF data, he threw the ball between the hashes beyond the line of scrimmage on 33.7% of his throws. In a shortened 2025, that was 31.7%.

Sam Darnold in 2024 made those same throws on 35.7% of passes and Kirk Cousins in 2023 was 40.5%.

The gap isn’t anywhere near what folks would have you believe. The same goes for under center percentage. Because Kyler ran the ball out of shotgun a lot in 2024, I’ve seen a bad stat going around about his under center percentage. Darnold threw 28% of passes under center in 2024 and Kyler threw 22% in Arizona in 2024.

Kyler throwing deep has not been effective in recent years but the narrative is again flawed about KOC wanting his QBs to act like the 1976 Oakland Raiders. In 2023, only 8% of Kirk Cousins’ passes traveled 20+ yards and KOC called it the best that he’d seen Kirk play. In 2024, 10.7% of throws by Kyler went 20+.

Receivers also have a lot to do with deep passing success. In 2021, Murray had a 99.3 PFF grade on 20+ yard throws. The next year, he had a horrific 48.5 grade. What changed? In 2021, he had DeAndre Hopkins, AJ Green and Christian Kirk. In 2023, they got Hollywood Brown, who got hurt. Hopkins got hurt. Their top receivers were Rondale Moore and Greg Dortch, two underneath guys. They’ve never had a true downfield WR since (and don’t tell me Marvin Harrison Jr. because he hasn’t yet proven to be a true star in the NFL).

Dan Bogosian

Is this truly a reset year? With Hargraves and JA being released, our d-line is… where we were last off season. I dont fully understand the panic some are having unless Greenard gets traded.

Also: what’s the Ryan Kelly situation? Would’ve thought he’d retire or be the first released. Is there a chance he stays & plays?

I saw Kevin Seifert refer to it as a “course correct” and I’ve decided on “Get Right Offseason.” The goal seems to be to take their medicine on the bad contracts in order to set themselves up better for the future but it definitely isn’t the same level of teardown as a full reset or rebuild like it was from 2022 to 2023.

In terms of Allen/Hargrave, certainly they can replace the production that those two had last year. I saw Hargrave doing some retweeting about how Flores’ D-line usage is not particularly favorable to pass rushing defensive linemen, which should make it easier for them to find some body movers and gap stuffers. It has to be factored into the discussion that those guys aren’t just cap cuts, they also didn’t really work out as perfect fits either.

Agreed that if they trade Greenard, that does make it a little different because you’re talking about a top 20 pass rusher being sent out purely for contract reasons. That’s much more along the lines of moves they made from 2022 to 2023 like letting Za’Darius Smith go.

I would assume they are going to release Ryan Kelly. I haven’t heard anything about when that’s going to happen. They can’t put him on the field again. I’d argue that it’s downright wrong for any NFL team to let him play another down after the concussions he’s had.

Brian_H… How was this offseason supposed to go? Seeing all the reports of vets about to be cut seems to go against the 2025 offseason narrative of having a multi-year Super Bowl window around a rookie contract. They’re not $40 million over the salary cap because J.J. sucked, so how would their approach be different this offseason if he had succeeded and they were a 2025 playoff team? Would they be mashing the restructure button?

Let’s say that JJ McCarthy had played like a top-15 quarterback and the Vikings won 10 games and lost in the Wild Card round. I don’t see any way that they would be considering doing something like trading Jonathan Greenard. I’d guess that things with Hargrave and Allen might have been a little different too because both of them were important down the stretch when the Vikings played like an elite defense following an adjustment to their roles.

We would have been talking about them going restructure crazy to find a veteran free agent center, maybe keep Jalen Nailor even though it might be too expensive and find a big-name safety to take Harrison Smith’s spot.

The QB situation truly shapes everything. Now that they have to go get another QB, it’s smarter to try to play the now-and-later game than it is to go all in. That means they can compete this year with QB1X, see what McCarthy does behind the scenes in terms of development and be prepared if they need to draft a QB and rebuild the roster in 2027 with cap space and draft capital.

Going all in does work sometimes. It certainly did for San Francisco around Brock Purdy in 2023 or around Drake Maye for the Patriots last year. But when it doesn’t work, there are implications and now they have to work through those.

IceColdNorth… Who are your favorite draft candidates at center (including other offensive linemen who took reps at center at the Combine despite not having played center in college)?

Duke’s Brian Parker is the most interesting guy to me because he’s 6-foot-5, 310 pounds and had really good numbers as a zone blocker and pass protector in college, even if it was playing tackle instead of center.

That’s a little risky because he isn’t experienced but it might be a good idea to have him back up Blake Brandel for a year and then go forward with him. If they are looking for a little safer type pick, I can’t really tell you the gap between Connor Lew, Jake Slaughter and Sam Hecht. They all seem like reasonable Day 2 type prospects. Lew has the ACL tear but I wouldn’t want any of these guys starting right away.

Jason… What’s the worst case, mostly likely, least likely but still plausible, and best case but still plausible outcome for the qb position this offseason?

The worst case scenario is getting left out of the party somehow. If Murray picks Atlanta, Geno Smith stays with the Raiders, Malik Willis signs in Arizona, Aaron Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh and Kirk Cousins chooses CBS broadcasting… then what happens? Joe Flacco? Russell Wilson? Marcus Mariota? Jimmy G? Mitch Trubisky? Carson Wentz? I legitimately have no idea.

The best case is Kyler Murray chooses the Vikings. He gives them a legitimate shot at winning the division in 2026 if he performs at a high level and the defense continues to play well and he comes at the cheapest possible price tag. He gives JJ an opportunity to develop for a year and then they can reassess whether they want him long term like a Baker Mayfield/Bucs kinda thing or if they want to move on.

I think that Geno Smith or Aaron Rodgers or Kirk Cousins would all give them a chance to be competitive but in the range of outcomes it’s almost impossible to see where it goes really, really well and even if it does you’d be looking for another QB in 2027 anyway.

Matt D… I know Greenard is a very good player, but I just don’t understand some of the outrage I’ve heard over them looking at a potential trade. He’s not Jared Allen in his prime, Turner looked like he was beginning to make some real strides towards the end of the year, and JG has a very tradable contract. Unless you thought we were in full on win now mode, this is just not a crazy move to me. And last I checked, we were favorites to finish last in the division. You trade JG for a real pick and then trade down in the first round, and you have a boatload of top 100 picks to rebuild and get younger.

I don’t think we should downplay Greenard’s talent or value. He’s extremely good. I’d easily put him in the top 20 rushers in the NFL. When we look at his advanced metrics from last year, he’s still there in pass-rush win rate and Pass Rush Productivity by PFF, it’s just that he wasn’t able to finish sacks like he did in 2024. Trading away excellent football players who give 100% and are phenomenal leaders is never a good sign. It means that you’re either not all-in to win the Super Bowl or that you’ve made some serious mistakes with your salary cap and… the shoe fits here.

To your point though, trading Greenard is probably the type of move they need considering the position that they are in with the cap and draft capital. They can’t afford to give him a significant raise as he enters his late prime, especially when they need to find out what they have in Dallas Turner at a pure pass rushing position.

And they need to get top-100 draft picks. They have had so few of them over the last four years that they’ve basically needed to have a hit rate way above expectation for their slot or thing were going to get rough and… things are presently rough. Adding another second-rounder this year would be a win. Then you’re aiming for two or three Day 1 starters or significant contributors and future pieces.

Bottom line: Giving away Greenard is bad but might also be necessary and eventually the right move.

Dermo Man… If you were GM, which second tier free agents would you be looking at for the Vikings e.g. D-Line, Safety, Corner . . . Be interesting to see if they take your advice !

Well, let’s see…

Second tier guys that I like are:

Tampa Bay, RB, Rachaad White — Good pass blocker, graded really well as a runner in a duo last year.

San Francisco, RB, Brian Robinson — Solid RB2 type

Detroit, DT, Levi Onwuzurike — Got hurt last year but was very good in 2024.

Los Angeles Chargers, DT, Da’Shawn Hand — Strong DT who can help stuff the run

Buffalo, DT, DaQuan Jones — Older pass rushing DT who can still play and is probably affordable.

Tennessee, DT, Sebastian Joseph-Day — Solid rotational DT

Houston, Sheldon Rankins — Solid rotational DT

Arizona, S, Jalen Thompson — Not a world beater but he’s tough and has had success playing in the box.

Baltimore, S, Alohi Gilman — Versatile safety. Lots of experience.

Kaden Ellis, LB, Atlanta — Underrated versatile LB who grades very well as a pass rusher

Los Angeles, CB, Roger McCreary — Veteran corner who has graded solidly in the past

Buffalo, FB, Reggie Gilliam — Gotta have a replacement for CJ Ham

Chicago, WR, Olamide Zaccheaus — Good depth WR

Detroit, WR, Kalif Raymond — Maybe it’s just because he’s always crushed the Vikings

Philadelphia, ED, Josh Uche — Good pass rush win rates in limited duty

Carolina, T, Yosh Nijman — Maybe the best swing tackle on the market

I think there’s a decent amount of guys who could provide a little help and not very many needle movers in this free agency class.

Brad… How did Vikings qb preform with Ryan Kelly in vs with Brandel or Jurgens in? Would trying to find a proven center be truly worth it?

If they are considering trading Greenard anything seems possible. Would Hockenson’s contract be tradeable? Preferably on draft day if it looks like you could get a kenyon sadiq

Ryan Kelly was a top five PFF graded center when he was in. He’s truly a unique talent.

Brandel was OK. He graded as PFF’s 17th best center in pass protection and had a good stretch after that game where Jalen Carter destroyed him.

The good thing about Brandel is that he’s very knowledgeable in KOC’s system. By now, he could probably coach it himself. And they didn’t go outside for an offensive line coach, so they’ll be using the same ideas and terminology with some tweaks within the system rather than an overhaul.

Can they find a better center in free agency than Brandel? Unlikely, especially with the cost about to be through the roof with Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago all needing centers.

Hockenson’s contract is probably untradable. With his recent production, teams would likely prefer to find a guy cheaper in free agency or draft someone than taking on a massive cap hit with Hock.

I like the idea of keeping TJ through this year and drafting Sadiq. It’s hard for TEs to make a massive impact right from the jump, so maybe put him on the Irv Smith Jr. plan where he’s a weapon right away with plans to become the guy eventually.

Bradley P…

Is the Burrow dream dead?

What does the JG news and the releasing of the DTs say to you about the approach on the defensive line?

Yeah, there’s been zero indication that Cincinnati is willing to move Burrow or that he’s forcing his way out. That could change but at least from the NFL Insiders, zero buzz there.

I think it says that they are going to have to focus on finding the next wave of guys either way. Develop Dallas Turner, Ty Ingram-Dawkins, Elijah Williams and any other young players they can acquire in the draft and see what they have. I also see this free agency group as having a ton of 30+ guys who can contribute productivity at a reasonable price the way Jihad Ward did for them in 2024.

It means that Brian Flores has more of his work cut out for him like he did in 2023 and 2024 but they still have a good amount of talent.

Bill B… Obviously, we are shedding salary this year, what I don’t understand is why we don’t do it 100%. Hock at 21M makes no sense to me in that context for example. I’d much rather acquire picks either this year in the second/third rounds or trade our first/second for 2027 firsts. Thoughts ?

Because nobody is trading Day 2 picks for Hockenson. Greenard and Hock are very different from a trade value perspective.

Cutting TJ for nothing and restructuring his deal are basically the same and he can still be an important contributor. I see it as something that they should do next year.

That said, it wouldn’t be a shock if they decided to move on and either draft Sadiq or try to fill the spot with their developing TEs or with a second-wave free agent.

Thus far, the players that they are reportedly cutting are all old and expensive and didn’t perform up to their expectation. They might see Hockenson as more of a victim of circumstance last year and a guy who can still play.

Brad L… The QB focus (understandably) has been on who we’re bringing in. Any word on what McCarthy is doing to try and make that a moot point?

Alec Lewis reported that he is working with John Beck, former NFLQB who’s become one of the top gurus. He’s worked with Dak, CJ Stroud, Bryce Young, Matt Ryan, Jared Goff etc.

Is it a moot point? Of course not. Whether McCarthy ends up a Viking or goes somewhere else, he’s going to need real guidance on what’s required to play NFL quarterback or this thing isn’t going to work out. After seeing so many QBs throughout history work out later in their 20s, it would be silly to write someone off forever because of a bad first season.

The Vikings are just in a position where they are looking to get back to the playoffs and get Justin Jefferson the ball and they can’t put all of their eggs in McCarthy’s basket. But if he works really hard, embraces whatever role they give him in 2026 and develops himself the best he possibly can, he can still have a chance at some point to be a starting NFL QB. I agree with KOC when he says that he showed the traits of a QB1 but he clearly isn’t there yet. Getting with Beck’s program is a step forward.

Colin O… do moves they’ve announced this offseason suggest just a set of “NFL business as usual” or is there a larger conclusion we can take about how the Wilfs might be shifting away from viewing their “always compete” manta that has yet to produce the high end results fans have desperately wanted?

They are definitely not shifting away from wanting to compete every year. There may be some point where the forces of football nature eventually cause them to have a really bad season but I can’t imagine a time where they are ever going to shift their mentality of expecting to be in the playoffs every year.

The hard part is that they always have just enough talent to never go to the bottom and that includes coaching as well. Mike Zimmer was never going to have a team that won 2 games. Same with KOC and Flores. The half measure offseasons have been frustrating. Moving on from everyone in 2023 but keeping Cousins. Same deal from 2019 to 2020.

But we shouldn’t act like it’s impossible to do things this way. Seattle didn’t tank, they just moved on from Russell Wilson at the right moment and stocked up a bunch of draft capital and then crushed those drafts.

I don’t see the recent cuts or a possible Greenard trade as a signal that they are going to go all the way to the bottom any time soon. It looks much more like: Let’s get this thing under control and spending like crazy in free agency and constantly trading away draft picks.

Get the cap into a better spot, add as much draft capital as possible but maintain a good enough core and add a good enough quarterback to reach the postseason.

Let’s also keep in mind that the “competitive rebuild” road nearly got them to being a very dangerous team. If they picked Bo Nix or kept Sam Darnold, it’s hard to argue that they wouldn’t have been in position to be a scary postseason team with the way the defense was playing at the end of the year.

Dennis H… Is the offseason plan to create as many holes on the roster as possible?

It’s to avoid total destruction in 2027/2028, I think.

If the franchise were going to melt into the ocean after this year, then they wouldn’t be doing this stuff.

Patrick G… what are the odds Greenard is moved vs. restructured? given what KC got for Trent McDuffie, would they let him go for peanuts, or would they only make the trade if the compensation felt worth it, especially if trading in conference? doesn’t feel worth it if it isn’t a couple day 2 pics (2nd & 3rd), or maybe including a 2027 first, especially if it’s a good team that’s picking late in the rounds. I heard Seattle had interest...think we can get Sam back as part of the trade? ;)

I’ll go with 70-30 he gets moved. Once Adam Schefter is out there with the report, it’s already pretty far down the road. I wouldn’t be surprised if 15 teams called them the minute that report came out. But you’re right to point out that the price has to be right. They do not have to make a trade. If the offers aren’t impressive, they could just tell Greenard to play out his contract and that they’re not going to redo the deal he signed and that’s that.

I was thinking Greenard’s value is somewhere in the ballpark of a 2026 second and 2027 third at worst. I’m sure they would love someone to get desperate and pull in a first-rounder. A 2027 first would be ideal.

Patrick G… are you as surprised as I am about the “get right” direction so far this offseason? I can EASILY talk myself into if we had Sam on the team last year, or 2024 kyler level play, we’re definitely the 2 seed, maybe even the 1 seed, why not go all in and run it back, especially if we can get Carr or Murray in here cheap for the 2026 season. I would think the Wilf’s have must have thought similarly.

At first, yes. I was surprised because the timeline was always expected to open the window between 2024-2026 during the first three years of McCarthy’s rookie contract. They aren’t exactly hitting the eject button but they also aren’t exactly leaning into it either.

The reason to not go all in is… what does that look like? Restructure every contract possible to create just enough cap space to sign a couple of free agents that are overpriced because there aren’t very many good players available and then if it doesn’t work you’ve completely blown up the future and it’s going to take years to get out from under the weight of that.

You can definitely talk yourself into the 12th best QB play being good enough for them to win 11 games next year if they kept the roster together but I’d also say that it’s not crazy to believe that that’s still the case. They will still have a high percentage of their roster from last season and if they add a few more cost-effective pieces and have a couple guys step up and stay healthier, they can still be right there in contention.

Maybe the vibe will change if they land Murray. He’s only going to cost $1.3 million, so they might be able to still do some stuff around him. If they get Malik Willis or Daniel Jones and have to put every dollar into QB, then it’s not happening.

Anglo Vike… I know that there is more to the Combine than just the drills. Having said that that does it concern you when you see people making ‘business decisions’ by not taking part in drills in case it hurts their stock? To my mind that raises some red flags about someone who hasn’t even taken a snap in the NFL yet

Yes. Something that’s annoying to me is when people put out there that a player is a “99th percentile athlete” when the guy skipped half the drills. It does seem like the 3-Cone is dead and everyone has decided they don’t want to do that anymore for whatever reason.

I’m a little conflicted on the red flag aspect of it. I’ve often thought that teams get fooled by the Combine as much as it helps them with identifying players. And the process leading up to the Combine where guys build their bodies to ace the test and not to prepare for Week 1 in the NFL is not great in my eyes. I’ve heard NFL coaches say before that they have to undo the whole pre-draft process with young players when they arrive.

I’m not sure what the answer is. You can’t make guys do this stuff but you also have to properly evaluate it.

Jeff… Friday Mailbag: I think they are going to go with the younger interior DI, trade Greenard for draft capital and then use a lot of their higher picks on defense. Safety, CB, DI, Edge, LB. On offense they should take one day 2 RB and 1 day 3 RB and run it back minus Speedy. Or am I crazy???

Nope, not crazy at all. Though I can’t help wonder about the TE and WR positions and future center.

I’m very intrigued by the idea of Kenyon Sadiq if he’s on the board or a Day 2 wide receiver because Addison’s future is unclear. The RB class is so rough that you might as well wait until Day 3.

Aside from that, a high percentage of the best players in the draft seem to be at corner, edge, linebacker and safety. I’m not as sold on the DTs. I saw Daniel Jeremiah didn’t have Caleb Banks or Peter Woods in his top 30 when he did his post-Combine rankings.

Florian Kubes… I’m a Vikings fan since Joe Kapp’s knuckleballs and this offseason is about par for the course for the past 20+ years. Social media helps fuel the fire. Since the Murray flurry blew up is there any talk about Anthony Richardson? He was attached to the Vikings for some time do to the kind words KOC was giving him after a game.

There hasn’t been much buzz about Richardson since then. I would still say that’s very much on the table.

Here’s what we know about KOC: He is not afraid of a crowded QB room. When they brought in Daniel Jones in 2024, I couldn’t really figure that one out. Jones had been really poor and I thought that all the attention needed to be dedicated to Sam Darnold. And not only did it work out totally fine but KOC was right about there being much more there with Daniel Jones.

I’m very much in favor of the Richardson swing.

Here’s Richardson’s age in context: He is seven months older than JJ McCarthy. He’s younger than Caleb Williams. He has nearly the same birthday as Cam Ward. He’s three months older than Drake Maye. He’s more than two years younger than Bo Nix.

I think about Richardson through the lens of Jayden Daniels. When Daniels was 22, he was at Arizona State throwing 10 touchdowns and 10 INTs. When he was Richardson’s age, he had finally just started to turn a corner as a passer. By age 24, he took his big step forward.

He’s worth a shot. He was bad but there were legitimately mind-blowing moments.

Matt R…. Matthew, I really like the interim GM’s approach to team building with financial responsibility and long term flexibility at the forefront. There appears to be an understanding that “all in” for this season isn’t going to produce a real contender in ‘26 and beyond, and the need to re-tool is recognized. He has over 30 years in the league and while not a “scout lifer” in that sense, I think he’d be a great fit as permanent GM who runs the team and reports directly to ownership in the model you’ve been proposing. There is no way he got this far in the NFL without being a “grinder” (sorry for the buzz words!). You are in the building a lot and are an insider. Am I on or off with this take? What say you, Matthew?

Vikings fans should be very comfortable with the idea of Rob Brzezinski being the general manager if that’s the way the Wilfs decide to go. He has earned a ton of respect around the NFL over many years and has the credibility within the building and the trust of ownership to create a pathway forward for them and then make it happen while leaning on the personnel folks and coaches.

On the scout thing, something to remember is that GMs only have time to watch so much tape. The reason that scouts often become GMs is that they work their way up the ladder over many years and they fully understand how a front office is supposed to be run from all of the different levels. Rob has that type of experience, just from a different perspective, similar to Howie Roseman, I believe.

Doing the Get Right Offseason where they handle things responsibly but still put out a 53-man roster that is capable of competing for the division is the right way to go, even if there’s some short term pain along the way.

Adam R… Am I wrong to still believe in JJ? It hasn’t been the ride any of us would want thus far but the online hate is crazy to me.

Yes I want to bring in competition and I have no issue if he sits behind someone for a year but to achieve the goal of winning a SB isn’t a star (and preferably young) QB the way to go? Unless Burrow is walking thru that door (he’s not) I don’t think any of the available options are good long-term options.

I’d even prefer to crash out with JJ while giving it a fair shot then get a high draft pick to draft another QB than not even try.

There’s an unfortunate thing happening now with the folks that want to believe in JJ McCarthy. Many of them are acting like he’s the victim. A victim of KOC somehow, a victim of not being given enough time, a victim of Justin Skule, a victim of people not giving him enough credit for a more acceptable final four games of the season and on and on.

You’re being rational and reasonable here and still using the term “fair shot,” as if something wasn’t fair to him.

There is plenty of individual moments and a couple of games to be able to point out and say that he has the talent to be an above average NFL quarterback. There is also a strong argument that if he played on a totally rebuilding team that they would be giving him Year 3 as the starter and letting him try to figure it out on the fly.

At the same time, there are almost no quarterbacks that weren’t top five picks who played like this and remained a starter much longer. Having the same QB rating through 10 games as Christian Ponder is tough to work with.

The way I’m thinking about McCarthy is: I believe the best possible thing for him would be to be a backup for a year or two and truly focus on developing. When we think about guys who needed work on throwing coming out like Jordan Love, Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis etc., those guys benefitted greatly from the true development time.

Joel J… I have been enjoying you coverage as always. I am wondering if we will let Nailor walk in free agency ?? he has been a wonderful prospect for us and has learned nicely in our system. Seems unfortunate to put so much effort into developing a player and then let him go. I realize that would likely mean trading or releasing Addison. Any possibility of keeping Nailor at WR2 and ‘demoting’ Addison (who’s still under contract?) to WR3? JJ

Appreciate that. I wouldn’t call it “let him walk,” rather he’s going to leave because he’s likely to get way more money than the Vikings can afford to pay him. It’s not even a secret at this point that the NFL is higher on Nailor than his box score stats suggest. Him putting on a bunch of muscle last year and becoming an above average blocker, good with the ball in his hands and getting open way more than he got the ball did not go unnoticed.

I don’t think the idea of trading Addison and keeping Nailor is actually bad considering the attention that Justin Jefferson gets and the opportunity for WR2/WR3 to have one-on-ones. It’s just tough to justify with Addison being on his rookie deal where his cap hit is only $4 million next year. That’s just incredibly favorable from a cap/production standpoint.

There is no chance they’d keep Nailor and demote Addison. He may struggle off the field and didn’t perform at his typical level last year but Addison is a top-30 receiver in terms of talent and production over his first two seasons.

Dennis H… Would you sign Tyler Linderbaum if you had to release Brian O’Neill for the cap space? Is the center position more valuable than right tackle?

That’s tough. Tackles are just so hard to find and they routinely play at a high level into their mid-30s. If I had to give an answer, it’s probably yes in a vacuum because of the age factor but O’Neill was still really good last year. He’s a guy that you’d like to see spend his entire career in purple.

Arin J… Hi Matt, I still believe in JJ McCarthy, with that said, Murray should be #1 option $1 million and for only 1 year, that can let McCarthy grow and learn. They should also try to get Richardson or Levis or some other to compete with McCarthy. Worse case they move on from JJ best case he rises to the top. Richardson looks good and you flip it for more draft capital, etc. The only reason I like Cousins better than Murray is would be a great teammate to JJ and Anthony. Etc. Not that Murray wouldn’t but JJ s game needs to get better at the things Cousins is great at the cost though might be the issue. Thoughts?

I’m definitely a believer in the QB mentor. If you remember, one of the first people that Patrick Mahomes thanked when he won the Super Bowl was Alex Smith.

But they are not the Minnesota McCarthys. Priority No. 1 is winning football games in 2026 and the talent gap between Kyler Murray and the 2026 version of Kirk Cousins is pretty darn enormous. You’re talking about a dynamic top-15 QB in his prime who is capable of an extremely high ceiling versus a 37-year-old QB with serious physical limitations. The odds of them winning 11+ games with Murray are massively higher than with Cousins.

If this was McCarthy’s first year, I might agree with you. It’s on JJ McCarthy to develop himself at this point. No more hand holding. He’s been a pro for two full seasons now.

Bernt…. talk me out of all moves pointing towards a major reset after next year. We’re likely not going to be competitive in the NFC North over the next couple seasons. Assuming we sign Murray, that’s likely a one year deal, and we get a year of JJM development while keeping Jefferson happy. Going into 2027 we either have learned we can count on JJM or we draft a QB.

The arrow is pointing in that direction, yes. Here’s the thing about trying to look into the crystal ball though: We have no idea what’s about to happen within the next two weeks, much less in two years.

I’m sure when they are working out their long-term plans, the overall idea is to start building through the draft and hope that McCarthy emerges or that they draft a QB in 2027 and they can have a roster on the rise at that point. But I always go back to the fact that Philly tried to trade for Russell Wilson the year that Jalen Hurts took them to the Super Bowl. Or that the 49ers tried to talk Brady out of retirement when Purdy led them to nearly winning a ring.

Nobody knows what’s going to happen next. They will try to set themselves up the best that they can going forward while trying to win now and then we all hold on for the ride.

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