The Arizona Cardinals officially released Kyler Murray on Wednesday at the start of the new league year, and one team appears to be at the front of the pack chasing him.
The Minnesota Vikings are the favorite to land the former No. 1 overall pick, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported, per sources.
A deal is not expected to materialize on Wednesday, however, as Murray will take his time vetting his options, but the Vikings are considered the team to beat in the race for Murray, Pelissero and Rapoport added.
The Cardinals informed Murray on March 3 they intended to release him at the start of the new league year, ending a partnership that began when the Cardinals spent the top pick of the 2019 draft on the Oklahoma product.
"With today's start of the new league year and transactions now official, we want to thank Kyler for everything he has done for this organization over the last seven years," Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort said in a statement released Wednesday. "We are extremely grateful for his contributions both on the field and off and we wish him nothing but the absolute best moving forward."
Over seven tumultuous seasons, Murray, 28, completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 20,460 yards, a 121-60 TD-INT ratio and a 92.2 passer rating while also piling up 3,193 rushing yards and 32 rushing scores in 87 regular season games. Murray helped the Cardinals reach the postseason once in 2021, completing 19 of 34 passes for 137 yards and two interceptions in a 34-11 loss to the eventual Super Bowl LVI champion Los Angeles Rams.
His departure became likely during the 2025 season, a campaign in which it seemed the Cardinals needed Murray to prove he was still worth a long-term investment. Instead, Murray struggled early in the season before exiting due to a foot injury that cost him all but five games, ending his Cardinals tenure on injured reserve.
With a new coaching staff in charge, Arizona elected to move on without Murray, who will undoubtedly attract interest from a number of QB-needy teams.
Murray's release on Wednesday also extended a streak of seven QBs taken No. 1 overall who did not remain with the team that drafted him past their age-30 season.
