MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray took a hit to his head at the end of a run and had to be pulled in the first quarter of his debut with the team in the season opener Sunday.
Murray was placed in the concussion protocol for evaluation and announced by the Vikings as out for the rest of the game against the Green Bay Packers.
Murray took off on a third-and-7 play from the Vikings 33 and ran around the right end, leaning forward to avoid contact as Packers outside linebacker Lukas Van Ness got his hand on Murray’s helmet at the end of his pursuit. Cornerback Javon Bullard arrived a split-second later and slammed his shoulder into the side of Murray’s exposed head, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty and knocking off the quarterback’s helmet.
Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill and left guard Donovan Jackson immediately turned toward the sideline to motion for the medical team, with Murray lying on his side and his legs kicking back and forth. The eighth-year player, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, eventually walked off the field under his own power with athletic trainers by his side.
Carson Wentz entered the game at quarterback and led the Vikings to a field goal on that drive. Wentz was pegged as the primary backup ahead of J.J. McCarthy, the 2024 first-round draft pick who started 10 games last season for Minnesota. McCarthy was inactive Sunday and the Vikings’ emergency quarterback, meaning he can only enter the game if Wentz is also injured.
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Dave Campbell, The Associated Press
