Late Night’s Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is at it again. After making a deal to acquire EDGE Marcus Davenport on Monday night, the Vikings GM made another big overnight deal to acquire another big-name quarterback. This time, the Vikings acquired former Arizona Cardinals CB Byron Murphy. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Murphy will head to Minnesota on a two-year, $22 million deal.
Murphy has played just nine games in 2022 due to injury, but he’s exactly the type of cornerback the Vikings needed in the secondary. The 2019 second-round pick has been a lock when he pitched for the Cardinals.
Over his first four seasons, Murphy played in 56 games, including 48 starts, and he recorded 229 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 34 passes defensed, 5 interceptions, a forced fumble and 5 fumble recoveries.
Ironically, Murphy spent the first two seasons of his NFL career learning under Patrick Peterson before Peterson left the Cardinals to join the Vikings. Now, in the Vikings’ first season since Peterson, Murphy appears to be the main guy to replace him in the Vikings’ starting lineup.
Although Murphy’s back injury kept him out for the rest of the 2022 season after Week 10, he was a key reason the Cardinals turned into a playoff team in 2021. Murphy had 12 passes defensed and 4 interceptions on the year.
He joins a Vikings defense in desperate need of a true starting QB after the aforementioned departure of Peterson, as well as the resignation of Cam Dantzler earlier this week. He joins a secondary that currently consists of four other cornerbacks: Kalon Barnes, Andrew Booth, Akayleb Evans and Tay Govan.
Of course, there’s still a chance the Vikings could keep Duke Shelley as well, but it’s hard to believe the tryout squad member turned starter will be able to recreate the type of production he put together all over the place. 2022 season.
Overall, this is a huge signing for the Vikings defense and further evidence of Minnesota’s desire to completely overhaul their defense going forward. Signing a 25-year-old cornerback in a huge turnaround is probably the best example of that.
Josh Frey is a 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a BA in Creative Writing.. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, playing or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account. @Freyed_Chicken.