Sam Darnold’s name still lingers in Minnesota, and a Vikings legend just made sure no one forgets it. As Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy head into a genuine quarterback battle, the warning cuts through the optimism.

“Now, this is going to be the hardest decision of them all because Minnesota has the draft capital,” Cris Carter said on Fully Loaded Podcast. “They’ve already invested in JJ McCarthy, and because of Kyler Murray, this is the last year on his contract. Not only if he plays well, but they’re also going to have to make a big decision from a franchise standpoint where they go from here because if Kyler Murray plays well, guess what?

“Minnesota hasn’t forgotten, even though they don’t want to talk about it; they have not forgotten Sam Darnold won the Super Bowl last year. And if you look at the resume of Kyler Murray compared to the resume of Sam Darnold coming to the Vikings, this Kyler Murray has a way better resume.”

Minnesota’s quarterbacks just weren’t good enough. J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and Max Brosmer all took turns under center, and together they won only 9 games. So, heading into 2026, the team is trying something different.

They’ve set up a real competition between McCarthy, heading into his second year, and Kyler Murray, the veteran they brought in this offseason.

Here’s the interesting part. Back in 2024, it was the Vikings who gave Sam Darnold his big break. He’d been sitting on the bench in San Francisco, but the Vikings took a chance on him, and it paid off big time. He led them to 14 wins and a playoff spot. Then they let him go.

Darnold signed a three-year, $100.5 million deal with the Seattle Seahawks in March 2025. A year later, he was a Super Bowl champion. That has to sting for a team that wasn’t willing to commit to him long term.

And it’s a big reason why the Vikings went after Murray so hard this offseason. Murray brings something different to the table than Darnold or McCarthy ever did. In seven seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, he started 87 games, threw for over 20,000 yards, and tossed 121 touchdowns. With Murray, Minnesota has a real dual-threat option at quarterback for the first time in a while.

On paper, this is supposed to be a fair fight for the starting job. But talk to people around the league, and most already expect Murray to win it. If he can find the form that made him special from 2019 to 2021, the Vikings could look like a real playoff contender again.

But there’s a warning buried in all of this, too. If Murray does turn things around and the Vikings still let him walk the way they did with Darnold, it could end up being the same painful story all over again.