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Kyler Murray Opens Up About the Struggle of Choosing Between NFL and MLB

Published 02/02/2021, 12:19 PM EST

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Kyler Murray is one of the finest quarterbacks in the NFL. The undersized shot caller has been the knight in shining armor for the Arizona Cardinals.

However, it wasn’t always football for Kyler Murray. What’s more, he was actually drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the first round of the MLB Draft, after being an impressive baseball player during his college days. However, he chose to pursue football instead, and the State Farm Stadium is a much better place for it.

Pat McAfee interviewed Kyler Murray for his podcast, asking Murry about his decision to choose football over baseball. Murray noted that he never believed that he had to choose one sport while he was playing.

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He gave his 100% on both fields and continued to improve as he got more chances. But he didn’t close the door on a potential return to the MLB.

He said, “It’s still there because I’ve been doing it my whole life. It wasn’t like, ‘I have to turn this off to be elite at football’. I’ve been doing both my whole life. I think it was definitely the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make. 

Murray further added that the decision was tough because he committed to Oakland. “Just because like I said given the age, my commitment giving them my word, telling them I was going to come to play if they allowed me to play one more season of football just because I had been waiting.” 

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Kyler Murray happy playing in the NFL

However, Murray noted that he doesn’t have any regrets about choosing football over baseball. Murray spoke about how his wait for the final year at Oklahoma State was worth it in the end, considering how it gave him the opportunity to prove himself. He was able to garner great success as he continued to bide his time on the bench.

He said, “Bake was quarterback and then waiting my turn. I wasn’t going to go play baseball if I didn’t get my chance to do my thing on the football field.

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“And then once I got my chance, I knew what I was going to do my last season at OU, and then did it and put myself in the position to be #1 pick, which made things harder. But that’s – you never have too many options.”

Could Kyler Murray choose to leave football to pursue a career in baseball? Many athletes in the past have done so, including the legendary Michael Jordan.

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However, Jordan did not find similar success in baseball due to various reasons and returned to his first love, which was basketball. Murray could follow in the footsteps of Jordan and try his hand at baseball. Do you think he will succeed?

Two-time Pro Bowler Advises Kyler Murray to be ‘Special’

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Written by:

Aaditya Krishnamurthy

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Aaditya Krishnamurthy is an NBA & NFL journalist for EssentiallySports, before which he worked at BusinessWorld magazine. He has been a fan of Basketball for over 10 years now, since Shaquille O’Neal was a Phoenix Suns player. During his time at Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, he started a sports magazine for the college called the Overtime Tribune and hosted the Overtime Tribune Podcast until he graduated.
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