Kyler Murray Believes He Could Play In NFL, MLB At Same Time

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray tells the Arizona Republic he believes he could play professional baseball and football at the same time.

“I think I could,” Murray said. “Athletically, I think, yeah, I could do it. I’ve been playing both my whole life. I would love to add that to the resume.”

The Oakland A’s used the No. 9 overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft on Murray and later signed him to a contract that included a $4.66 million signing bonus.

Murray seemed destined to play baseball before returning to Oklahoma and putting together an impressive season that resulted in him winning the Heisman Trophy and later being selected No. 1 overall by the Cardinals.

For now, Murray says his focus remains on just playing football, but he thinks it would be fun to play both sports. 

“I don’t understand why in sports they try to marginalize it,” Murray told the Republic. “They try to make you pick one and I get it, but we’ll see. I think it would be fun. Right now, though, I’m just focused on football.”

Murray, 22, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Cardinals after making the decision to pursue an NFL career, despite being drafted in the first round by the Oakland A’s in 2018. 

Murray signed a four-year, $35,158,644 deal that included a $23,589,924 signing bonus.  The contract has a fifth-year option for the Cardinals to pick up in 2022.

In 2019, Murray appeared in all 16 games for the Cardinals and completed 64.4 percent of his passes for 3,722 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 544 yards and four touchdowns.