Ex-Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray, Oakland A’s Top Draft Pick, Expected To Declare For 2019 NFL Draft

There are two camps surrounding Kyler Murray. One refers to him as Heisman winner Kyler Murray. The other refers to him as Oakland A’s top draft pick Murray. The former has won out. Murray will officially declare for the 2019 NFL Draft on Sunday.

Heisman Winner Murray To Enter NFL Draft

Currently, Murray has a $4.66 million contract offer from the Athletics. If he were to declare for the draft, odds are he’d reject the offer. However, he doesn’t automatically have to. Some are reporting that Murray declaring for the draft is not significant to the organization. If the 21-year-old former Oklahoma quarterback does enter into it, baseball fans will turn their attention to February 15 to see if he’ll attend the big league camp. However, the NFL scouting combine begins just 11 days later and would be a must-attend event for Murray. The Oakland Chronicle reports that Murray is now leaning toward choosing football over baseball.

In the event that Murray goes to the NFL, Oakland would be returned his signing bonus but wouldn’t receive any compensation for his draft pick. The team would also retain his professional baseball rights. If his football career doesn’t work out, Murray could still play for the organization, which would then likely have him under contract for most of his prime, if not for all of it.

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This year’s NFL Draft class is notoriously shallow in quarterback prospects. At just 5-foot-10, Murray will be one of the first quarterbacks off the board. Teams will have to glance over his size and hope that his success in Oklahoma can transfer over to the pro level. When he first signed with the A’s, his contract allowed for him to return to college and play football for his junior season. It didn’t for his senior year but that’s likely not being considered at all.

In early December, Murray insisted that he planned to report to spring training. However, that stance softened recently. In between, Murray won the Heisman and became a top NFL prospect.

Article by Bill Piersa

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