Packers Face Serious Kyler Murray Allegation After Injury

A hard collision that ended Kyler Murray’s Minnesota Vikings debut in the first quarter Sunday drew a sharp accusation Monday from former NFL linebacker Tedy Bruschi, who said Green Bay Packers safety Javon Bullard meant to target the quarterback’s head and neck.

Murray scrambled on a third-down play and began to slide when Packers edge rusher Lukas Van Ness and Bullard arrived together. Murray’s helmet came off. He stayed down on the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium as trainers rushed in.

Officials flagged Bullard 15 yards for unnecessary roughness. He was not ejected. Van Ness was not penalized.

Bruschi, a three-time Super Bowl champion who now appears on ESPN’s “Get Up,” reviewed the play and did not mince words about a defender’s ability to choose his target. He threw a serious allegation at the Green Bay Packers.

“Let me tell you something I can do as a defender,” Bruschi said. “I remember this… I could pinpoint my helmet… on any minute detail on your body. I can target whatever I want, going full speed, I can hit it… I can be that accurate with my hit. That hit right there was to the head and neck area. He knew exactly what he was doing with that forearm, that elbow. You can put it in the knees, in the stomach. He wanted to put it on the head and neck, right there.”

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported that Van Ness pulled at Murray’s helmet as the quarterback slid while Bullard struck him with his right shoulder.

Multiple Vikings players later said Murray’s body went into a fencing posture, an involuntary reaction sometimes seen after a blow to the head. Team medical staff diagnosed a concussion and placed him in the NFL’s concussion protocol.

The hit ended Murray’s day after just 11 offensive plays. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 18 yards with one interception. Carson Wentz replaced him and threw three touchdown passes as Minnesota overcame a 22-10 deficit and won 39-22.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game he had seen Murray in the locker room.

“I don’t have a lot to update,” O’Connell said, “other than I did just see him and he seemed to be doing pretty well.”

Right tackle Brian O’Neill was among the first teammates to reach Murray. He shoved Bullard and later said he wished he had done more.

“It was so bang, bang,” O’Neill said. “You don’t want to freak out if you’re wrong. I was probably wrong to not freak out more than that. So I kind of wish I took a shot at him.”

Star receiver Justin Jefferson called the scene frustrating.

“Obviously somebody hit him while he was down. But as soon as that happened and I saw his reaction to that, it was really just frustration. I hate to see anyone go down with an injury, especially an injury like that. For our starting quarterback to go down that early in that way, it was definitely very tough to see.”

Running back Aaron Jones described the moment as one that snapped everyone back to the realities of the sport.

“It almost puts me in a bad head space in a way because you never want to see anybody get hit like that,” Jones said. “And then especially to me, when somebody’s posturing on the field, that’s when it’s scary.”

Wentz finished 12 of 19 for 133 yards. He became just the third NFL backup since 1950 to throw three touchdowns without an interception in a season opener.

The NFL has spent years tightening rules around hits on quarterbacks who slide or give themselves up. Still, concussions remain part of the game. League data showed 168 diagnosed concussions across the 2025 season, up from 129 the year before. An analysis of skill-position injuries that year found quarterbacks typically needed about 1.5 games to return after a concussion, longer than running backs or receivers.

As of Monday morning the league had not announced any additional discipline for Bullard beyond the in-game penalty. Murray’s next opportunity would come Sunday at Chicago if he clears protocol. Until then the Vikings will lean on Wentz, who said he had tried to stay ready through mental reps after limited live work in camp.

The play itself will likely stay under review. Bruschi’s comments made clear he saw it as more than an accidental high hit. For the Green Bay Packers, it was a devastating collapse once again that has raised many more questions than answers.