Vikings QB Kyler Murray Strongly Praised by GM Nolan Teasley
Minnesota Vikings QB Kyler Murray is likely to be the starter in 2026. He is currently in a “competition” with fellow signal caller J.J. McCarthy. However, as has been reported, it’s not close through OTAs.
Murray just has a different kind of talent than McCarthy. It’s not just the mobility factor, but it’s throwing the ball as well. Murray has an ability to layer all of the throws all around the field, and believe it or not, his short height doesn’t hold him back from doing so. Layering the ball is something we haven’t seen from J.J. McCarthy, even though it’s only been 10 games for the kid. McCarthy looked like he threw a lot of his passes at one speed in 2025, and that speed was supersonic.
Sure, it’s nice to have a QB that throws with some zip. However, not every throw needs to be shot from a cannon. There are times where a ball needs to be placed into the bread basket, and to be fair, there were a few examples of this from McCarthy last year. Still, the long-term project for J.J. McCarthy is figuring out how to harness the fastball, and use his powers for good instead of evil.
Murray looks to be the Vikings’ lead-man moving forward, at least in 2026. One of the main figures that Murray needs to impress, new GM Nolan Teasley was quite complimentary of the QB recently.
Vikings QB Kyler Murray Draws Strong Praise from GM Nolan Teasley
Teasley sat down with the beloved Paul Allen on Monday. He had good things to say about Kyler Murray, whom Teasley is very familiar with.
“The physical talent is there. He can make all the throws. He can create off-schedule, and this is not a slight to anybody, but this offensive staff and coach O’Connell, that’s the untapped potential. He’s going to realize, I think, another level of development.”
There isn’t any possible denial of Kyler Murray’s physical gifts. Murray can escape the pocket with ease, make all of the throws, and make all of the calls. What has been missing, though, is late-season and playoff success.
Kyler Murray is 0-1 in the playoffs in his career. The one game he played was against the Los Angeles Rams, and it didn’t go quite well. In the 34-11 loss, Murray threw for 137 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs. Not really the performance you’re looking for out of your franchise QB. However, maybe there is something to be said about being on the Arizona Cardinals, a franchise known for not exactly being a stellar one.
Additionally, the Arizona Cardinals are a shocking 5-25 when Murray doesn’t play since he was drafted, per StatMuse. The Cardinals needed Murray much more than Murray needed them. This 30-game sample size does raise concern, because that obviously means Kyler has missed a lot of games. Since the competition here is against J.J. McCarthy, then you could say Murray has only missed 6 more games since 2019 than McCarthy has since 2024.
Vikings GM Nolan Teasley Talks QB Competition
While talking with Paul Allen, Teasley also complimented the Vikings QB room as a whole, detailing the competitive situation at hand.
“It’s deep. It’s competitive. There’s a lot of talent in there, there’s football experience, there’s upside. And that applies to everybody because of the developers we have at that position. So, iron sharpens iron, may the best man win.
They’re going to compete hard. They’re going to be developed to a really high level because of Coach O’Connell and the offensive football staff.”
A good QB competition is the best thing for the Minnesota Vikings in 2026. In 2025, they basically handed McCarthy the keys to the car unchecked. He wasn’t able to stay healthy, and a multitude of factors led to poor play on the field. However, the Vikings are still hopeful he can develop, and the best way to get the most out of an athlete is to give them competition.
