Here's a fun one to kick around while we await the return of baseball -- what if Pro Bowl Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray decides he wants to return to the diamond?
It turns out there's a Red Sox connection.
For those who haven't been paying attention, all is not right between the franchise QB and his team. First, Murray scrubbed all references to the Cards from his social media accounts. Then ESPN reported on Super Bowl Sunday that Murray is described as, "self-centered, immature, and (a) finger-pointer," words that sure had the stench of butt-covering from someone in the Arizona organization after a late-season collapse ended with a 34-11 loss to the Rams in the wild card. Murray threw for just 137 yards and two interceptions before removing himself late in the game, which reportedly rankled his employers.
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Now Murray is eligible for a contract extension that could pay him $30 million annually, though it's not that simple, since a year remains on his rookie deal at roughly $11 million and the Cardinals have until May to exercise a fifth-year option for about $25 million.
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Murray would clearly like to be paid sooner than later, given the injury risks that accompany being a 5-foot-10 quarterback, and so perhaps this is all posturing. But he does have another option on the table that's caught the attention of baseball executives.
Back in 2018, the A's chose Murray with the ninth overall pick. Rather than begin his pro career immediately, however, he returned to play football at Oklahoma, where he had backed up Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield. He then went out and won the Heisman himself to become the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL draft. He remains the only player selected in the first round of both leagues.
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Murray forfeited most of his $4.6 million signing bonus with the A's -- as well as a reported $14 million sweetener to stick with baseball -- and headed off to training camp. He made an immediate impact, being named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019, throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and making his first Pro Bowl a year later, and leading the Cardinals to 11 wins and their first playoff berth since 2015 this past season.
All of that should point to a long NFL career, but if the Cardinals play hardball with Murray, perhaps his calculus changes. He need look no further than former Heisman hopeful Jeff Samardzija for a glimpse into how lucrative a successful baseball career can be without the risk of debilitating injury.
In a different life, Samardzija might've been Larry Fitzgerald, a big receiver with speed. He was far more famous at Notre Dame for his football exploits than his baseball ones, finishing second to Calvin Johnson for the Biletnikoff Award. But he chose the Cubs after being taken in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB draft.
He then embarked on a lucrative 13-year career as a right-handed pitcher that earned him more than $120 million despite a lifetime record of just 80-106. He was cut with two days left in the 2020 season by the Giants and hasn't pitched since, though he hasn't formally retired, either.
Murray was an outfielder with tremendous speed in college. He hadn't played baseball in two years when he first suited up for the Sooners, and the rust showed. He hit just .122 in his 2017 debut, and then followed up with a .170 performance in the Cape League, where his athleticism nonetheless shined through.
He broke out as a junior in 2018, hitting .296 with 10 homers, 10 steals, and a .954 OPS. That was enough to make him a top-10 pick of the A's, and that's where the Red Sox connection comes in, because the scout who signed him, Chris Reilly, now covers Texas for Boston.
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Murray was technically eligible for the minor league portion of December's rule 5 draft, but went unselected. The quarterback he is most often compared to, Seattle's Russell Wilson, was also a baseball draftee who actually spent two seasons in the minors with the Rockies after being chosen in the fourth round in 2010. The Rangers selected him in the minor league portion of the 2013 rule 5 draft and five years later traded his rights to the Yankees, who brought him to camp as a de facto motivational speaker in 2019 and gave him one at-bat against Braves lefty Max Fried, who struck him out.
If the rule 5 were held today, Murray might very well be taken, since the door has opened a crack for a return to baseball. As it is, his rights remain with the A's, and if there's a chance of seeing a return on its investment, Oakland would assuredly take it.
Speaking to Cronkite News in Arizona, Reilly said he wouldn't rule out Murray succeeding in baseball.
"I think when his NFL career first started I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to do both," Reilly said. "It's just an ongoing curiosity of what could've been had he chosen baseball. I would never bet against him."