NFL Week 1 Overreactions: Giants, Harbaugh win on SNF, Bears look for real
USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Cardona-Norberg and Madison Tenenbaum ‘overreact’ to some of the best games from Sunday’s Week 1 slate.
Carson Wentz may need to prepare for another start with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.
Vikings starting quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a concussion during the first quarter of Minnesota’s season opener against the Green Bay Packers. Murray took a hard hit as he slid to the ground and stayed down after the play. He eventually walked off the field under his own power, but he did not return to the game.
As the NFL calendar flips to Week 2, Murray needs to clear the league’s five-step concussion protocol before he’ll be eligible to play again. In the meantime, Minnesota will turn to Wentz, their backup, to take first-team reps until Murray is ready to return.
Here’s what to know about Murray’s status heading into Week 2:
Kyler Murray injury update
Murray is in the NFL’s concussion protocol after sustaining a head injury in Week 1’s win over the Packers.
Murray must clear the NFL’s concussion protocol before returning to the field, but he took a positive step Wednesday when he logged a “limited” practice session, per Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell.
“Kyler’s gonna be a limited practice participant today,” O’Connell told reporters. “Working through the protocol. We’ll see how he responds and continue to rely on the medical folks in that regard.”
O’Connell didn’t provide a concrete update about Murray’s status for Week 2. He also opined the limited participation tag was particularly “vague” for quarterbacks, as they typically wear red, non-contact jerseys throughout their weekly practice sessions.
However, O’Connell expressed confidence the veteran quarterback wouldn’t necessarily need a lot of practice time in order to start – if he’s able to clear the NFL’s concussion protocol.
“The good thing is the amount of reps he got from competing and then being named the starter, like he’s got a lot of reps logged away,” O’Connell said. “But really, we’re taking it period-by-period as far as the plan we have, but we wanna be monitoring how he’s doing.”
What is the NFL’s concussion protocol?
The NFL breaks its concussion protocol down into five steps. The process is designed to break up the recovery process from a head injury and ensure a player’s safety.
A player in the protocol must clear all five steps before they’re cleared to play.
Here are the five steps, according to the NFL:
- Symptom-limited activity
- Aerobic exercise
- Football-specific exercise
- Club-based non-contact training drills
- Full football activity/clearance
Dart was on the fourth step of the concussion protocol when he returned to practice as a non-contact participant on Nov. 19. He will still need to be a full participant in a Giants practice session this week before he’s cleared to return to action in Week 12.
Vikings QB depth chart
- Kyler Murray (questionable – concussion)
- Carson Wentz
- J.J. McCarthy
Wentz, not former 10th overall pick J.J. McCarthy, is the Vikings’ backup to start the 2026 season. Despite McCarthy battling Murray for Minnesota’s top quarterback spot in spring workouts and training camp, he has begun the season as the Vikings’ third-string quarterback. The team listed McCarthy as inactive (emergency third quarterback) for Week 1’s game against the Packers.
Wentz is in his second straight season as the Vikings’ backup quarterback. The veteran and former No. 2 overall pick started five games for Minnesota last year when McCarthy sustained a high ankle sprain in Week 2. Wentz led the Vikings to a comeback win in Week 1, leading the offense to 29 unanswered points in the final two quarters.