Vikings' Kyler Murray hits back at injury narrative after concussion

Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback Kyler Murray already had a worrisome injury history when he suffered a scary-looking concussion during what became Minnesota's 39-22 Week 1 win over the rival Green Bay Packers on Sept. 13. 

Murray was unable to play in the Vikings' Week 2 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sept. 20, but he cleared the NFL's concussion protocol in time to start for the 2-0 Vikings at the 0-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers this coming Sunday. 

Kyler Murray feeling good after concussion

While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Murray revealed that he felt "good pretty quickly" after he went down with his head injury earlier this month. 

"Obviously with the protocol and everything like that, I had to go through it," Murray explained, per Kevin Seifert of ESPN. "It was just part of the process."

Murray's inability to stay healthy and in the lineup is one reason the Arizona Cardinals moved on from him this past offseason. In December 2022, he suffered a knee injury that left him needing ACL surgery and meniscus repair. Last season, he made just five starts before he was shut down because of a foot issue that basically ended his Arizona tenure. 

Murray was with the Cardinals from when they made him the first pick of the 2019 draft through the 2025 season. 

Kyler Murray insists he can protect himself during games 

Murray is hardly the only quarterback known for making plays with his legs who has received criticism over the years for not knowing when to slide or get out of bounds to avoid taking unnecessary hits. On Thursday, Murray insisted that he hasn't been reckless during games as a pro. 

"But I've really never had an issue protecting myself," Murray added during his comments. "I'd like to think I'm one of the least-hit quarterbacks in the league as far as just protecting myself, getting the ball out, stuff like that. So that's new for me to have to go through that type of situation, because that's the last thing I ever expected is to get a concussion just because I am very careful with being in open field and I know that was kind of an awkward slide situation, but I'm always trying to protect myself."

Murray signed a team-friendly one-year contract to join the Vikings back in March, so the team could move on from him with no problem if he is unable to stay healthy through January. For now, he'll look to silence critics in multiple ways when he goes up against fellow quarterback Baker Mayfield and the rest of the Buccaneers. 

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Minnesota as a 1.5-point road favorite for that matchup.