Vikings Land Surprising Free Agency Grade

The Minnesota Vikings stunned their fan base, to an extent, last week when free agency kicked off because the franchise did close to nothing — until it secured Kyler Murray on Thursday evening. And according to NBC Sports, Murray alone fetches the Vikings an ‘A’ grade for free agency out of the gate.

Minnesota did less than most teams and still drew praise.

The Vikings were minimalists, and some national media love it.

NBC Sports Weighs In on the Vikings’ Free Agency

The Murray era begins in the Twin Cities.

NBC Sports: Vikings Get an ‘A’ in Free Agency

Minnesota grabbed Murray for free, and NBC Sports loved it.

Assigning a rare ‘A’ grade, Kyle Dvorchak praised the Vikings, “Minnesota’s offseason comes down to one player: Kyler Murray. The former Cardinal was released by Arizona at the start of the new league year. By that time, enough of the quarterback dominoes had fallen to all but guarantee Minnesota as his landing spot.”

“Because of offset language in his Arizona contract, he will be playing for the veteran minimum this year. Murray wasn’t great last year, but he wasn’t terrible either. He ranked 22nd in EPA per play (min. 200 plays), sandwiching him between Justin Herbert and Michael Penix.”

There’s no better deal anywhere in the NFL right now than Murray for $1.3 million. It might even be the best value in sports.

Dvorchak continued, “Murray finished 13th in EPA per play in the previous season. Even as his career has petered out, he has still been an average or above-average quarterback in the spreadsheets.”

‘”Now he goes to a team with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson, plus Kevin O’Connell calling the plays. All for the lowest contract a team can offer?”

They … Made Two Moves

The astounding part about Vikings free agency? By a sheer number of roster transactions, the club hasn’t done much. In fact, it is by far Minnesota’s quietest free agency since 2020, when the franchise signed interior defensive lineman Michael Pierce and basically called it good.

Interim general manager Rob Brzezinski has re-signed players like Jalen Redmond, Eric Wilson, Ivan Pace Jr., Bo Richter, and Zavier Scott, but aside from those in-house moves and the additions of Murray and cornerback James Pierre, that’s it.

The team is cash-strapped due to huge spending sprees in 2024 and 2025, leaving salary cap space to save for the 2027 offseason.

The Kyler Effect

The cause of the high grade for Minnesota is obvious: it’s not easy to stumble into the first overall pick from a draft for next to nothing. Murray costs the Vikings $1.3 million this season — Arizona is paying the bill — and for a quarterback with a better career EPA+CPOE than Trevor Lawrence, Baker Mayfield, C.J. Stroud, and Daniel Jones, there’s just no better deal in the NFL.

Minnesota won nine games last year with the league’s fifth-worst quarterback play by the numbers, meaning a competent quarterback may be the only thing separating them from the postseason and possibly the Promised Land.

Any team that signed Murray for 1.3 million bucks — any team at all — would be given an ‘A’ grade for the offseason. The value is just off the charts. It’s actually hard to fathom.

Only One Other ‘A’ Grade — The Bears

One other squad fetched an ‘A’: Chicago.

Dvorchak noted on the Bears’ first week of free agency, “As expected, the Bears primarily addressed defense in free agency, signing safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush to three-year deals worth $40 million and $30 million respectively. Bryant, a former fourth-round pick in Seattle, slowly earned more work every year with the Seahawks.”

“He took the field for 95 percent of their defensive snaps in his 15 games last year. Bush similarly took a while to find his footing in the NFL. He was an abject disaster on his rookie contract in Pittsburgh and things didn’t get much better during his one-year stint in Seattle.”

Chicago’s defense ranked 21st in the league last year per EPA/Play. It makes sense that it would target the defense in free agency, as Ben Johnson’s team featured a Bottom 12 unit, despite winning the NFC North and a Wildcard Round postseason game.

Dvorchak added, “Things finally clicked in Cleveland and PFF graded him as their No. 4 linebacker. Bush held the same rank in coverage grade among linebackers, which is a massive improvement over his coverage acumen in previous seasons.”

“It’s possible Bush’s ascendance in Cleveland won’t be replicated in Chicago. At $10 million a year, it’s worth a shot.”

The Vikings will sell training camp as a battle between Murray and J.J. McCarthy, but Murray is expected to win the QB1 title rather handily.

Murray will turn 29 this summer.