Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray’s debut with the team came to an abrupt end on just his 11th snap when the 29-year-old absorbed a vicious late hit from the Green Bay Packers’ Javon Bullard and Lukas Van Ness.
Murray initially appeared to be holding his left leg on the play, which ended with a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty against Bullard. However, the CBS broadcast soon updated viewers that the former Arizona Cardinals starter was being evaluated in the concussion tent.
Shortly thereafter, veteran backup Carson Wentz entered as Murray was ruled out for the game. Wentz would later hit Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson with a 39-yard touchdown pass to cut Green Bay’s lead to 12-10 before halftime.
Replay of the helmet-to-helmet hit revealed that Murray’s actually came off on the first-quarter play. Fortunately, the Vikings quarterback did walk off the field without any help.
Fans quickly attacked Bullard and Van Ness online, where many accused the pair of dirty play.
‘DIRTY LATE HIT ON MURRAY,’ read one post from an irate Vikings fan.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray was evaluated for a concussion in his debut game with the team after absorbing a late hit Javon Bullard
Many fans felt Bullard’s hit on Murray was late, while others thought it was unavoidable
Murray was able to walk off the field before being evaluated for a concussion on the sideline
‘Dirty a** Packers players tried to seriously hurt Kyler Murray,’ another added on X.
Neither Van Ness nor Bullard were ejected, which further infuriated Vikings fans: ‘The fact this wasn’t an ejection is so f***ing maddening.’
But not everyone agreed. Many others pointed to Murray’s awkward slide, which left the Green Bay defenders with little time to avoid the late hit. NFL rules dictate that ball carriers can give themselves up by sliding feet first, but Murray’s slide was less definitive and could have seemed ambiguous to Bullard and Van Ness.
‘Hit was not late,’ one fan wrote on X. ‘He dove instead of sliding and still got the… penalty.’
‘He should’ve slid feet first instead of head first,’ another added.
And then there were those who blamed both Murray and Bullard: ‘Dirty hit but Murray should never slide head first with his head up!!!’
Kyler Murray was making his first regular-season start for the Minnesota Vikings
As some fans already knew and many others learned on Sunday, Murray’s backup turned out to be Wentz and not JJ McCarthy, the former first-round pick coming off a disastrous rookie season in the Twin Cities.
Wentz, a former first-round pick in his own right, was Minnesota’s starter to begin the 2025 season before a shoulder injury ultimately forced McCarthy into action.
A national champion at Michigan, McCarthy passed for just 11 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions over 10 games last season. And with the team clearly unimpressed with his production, Minnesota signed Murray to a one-year deal after his contract expired in Arizona.
Murray’s tenure in Minnesota got off to a bad start on Sunday as he was picked off Keisean Nixon on his first pass as a Viking. A former first-round pick in both the NFL and MLB drafts, Murray was once the league’s offensive Rookie of the Year, but has struggled to find consistency while battling injuries as a pro.
