Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray meet Sunday as the Arizona Cardinals play host to the Seattle Seahawks. In addition to being “undersized” quarterbacks, both also have a baseball background. Looking at other NFL QBs who played baseball, too.
Matt Moore
Journeyman QB Matt Moore was selected in the 22nd round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels after scouts saw him play in a Southern California semi-pro baseball league and invited him to private workouts with the team.
Dan Marino
Dan Marino was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round in 1979. The Hall of Famer was a pitcher. Marino (and John Elway) were drafted long before current Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly.
Steve McNair
The late Steve McNair was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 35th round of the 1991 MLB Draft from Mount Olive HS (MS).
Akili Smith
The Cincinnati Bengals made Akili Smith their first round pick — third overall — in 1999. He was also a shortstop the Pirates chose in the seventh round in 1993. He played parts of three seasons in the minors and hit only .176.
Dan Pastorini
Dan Pastorini (second, left) actually played for the Alaska Goldpanners baseball team in 1968. The shortstop was a 32nd round pick of the New York Mets.
Archie Manning
Archie Manning was a shortstop who was a third-round pick of the Chicago White Sox in 1971. It was the fourth time he was an MLB draft pick but he never signed, choosing an NFL career.
John Elway
John Elway was an outfielder and second-round pick of the New York Yankees in 1981. Elway signed for $140,000. After the Baltimore Colts drafted the Stanford QB No. 1 overall in 1983, he threatened to play baseball as a Yankee unless he was traded. He also was an 18th-round selection by the Royals in 1979. Elway batted .551 and .491 in his last two seasons and won Los Angeles Player of the Year honors and a city championship in high school.
Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow is a minor league in the Mets’ organization. He hadn’t played baseball since 2005, his junior year at Allen D. Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida, when the Angels reportedly looked into drafting him. He hit .494 with four homers and helped Nease to the state playoffs in his junior season before leaving a year early to play football at the University of Florida.
Drew Henson
Drew Henson was another elite quarterback who played baseball in the Yankees’ system. Henson was selected in the third round with the 97th overall selection in the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed a six-year, $17 million contract to forgo the NFL and play exclusively for the Yankees. Henson played a total of eight games in the majors. He ended his brief major league career with only one hit in nine at-bats.
Tom Brady
The great pitcher was a catcher in high school. Tom Brady was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round in 1995. He was a left-handed-batting catcher with power.
Jameis Winston
Jameis Winston is another Heisman winner from the Sunshine State with a baseball background. he was chosen by the Texas Rangers in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. Winston chose Florida State in part because he was allowed to play for the Seminoles baseball team in addition to football. A switch-hitting batter and a right-handed thrower, he played as an outfielder and a pitcher as a freshman in 2013.
Matt Cassel
Matt Cassel was a journeyman in the NFL. Cassel’s Northridge (CA) team reached the finals of the 1994 Little League World Series; Cassel was the starting first baseman. He lettered in baseball and football in high school and played baseball at USC in 2004. The Oakland Athletics chose Cassel in the 36th round of the 2004 MLB Draft.
Colin Kaepernick
Colin Kaepernick was an all-state pitcher. The Cubs made him a 43rd round pick, but he chose to play football.
Brandon Weeden
Brandon Weeden was a pitcher, who was selected in the second round of the 2002 MLB Draft by the Yankees. He never thrived in baseball and played his last season in 2006 at Class A before heading to Oklahoma State to play football.
Daunte Culpepper
Daunte Culpepper was a 26th-round pick of the New York Yankees in the 1995 Amateur Draft as an outfielder out of high school. He did not sign.
Joe Theismann
Joe Theismann played baseball in high school. His favorite receiver in high school was Drew Pearson, who went on to star for the Cowboys.
Steve Bartkowski
Steve Bartkowski was a first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons as in No. 1 overall. He also played baseball and was chosen in the 19th round in 1974 as a first base prospect by the Baltimore Orioles.
Mark Brunell
Andy Lyons /Allsport
Mark Brunell was by the Atlanta Braves in the 44th round of the 1992 MLB Amateur Draft from the University of Washington.
Rodney Peete
Rodney Peete starred at USC and was a journeyman in the NFL. As a third baseman, Peete was a 28th round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 1990.
Danny White
Danny White is best known for playing as a Dallas Cowboy. He also He played infield for the Sun Devil baseball team and was drafted by four major league teams.
Ken Stabler
Ken Stablers was drafted numerous times by MLB teams. He was chosen by by the New York Yankees in the 10th round of the 1966 MLB June Draft from University of Alabama, the New York Mets in the 11th round of the 1967 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase and the Houston Astros in the second round of the 1968 MLB January Draft-Regular Phase.
Jay Schroeder
Jay Schroeder was a first-round pick … of the Toronto Blue Jays as a catcher in 1979. He was a third-round NFL pick. He wound up in football after hitting only .213 in the minors. Not great for a third overall MLB pick.
Bubby Brister
Bubby Brister was originally drafted to play baseball in the fourth round in 1981 out of high school by the Detroit Tigers as a shortstop. He played one season for the minor league Bristol Tigers before attending college for football
Chris Weinke
Chris Weinke was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the second round of the 1990 MLB Draft. He played six seasons in the minors, averaging .248 with 69 career homers before heading to Florida State, where he won the Heisman in 2000.
Todd Marinovich
Todd Marinovich was groomed to be an athlete, mostly a football player. He was taken by the California Angels in the 43rd round of the 1988 amateur draft but did not sign.
Chris Miller
Chris Miller was a shortstop and fifth-round pick of the Seattle Mariners in 1985. He played three sports at Sheldon High School in Eugene, OR.
Michael Vick
Michael Vick was so talented the Colorado Rockies tried to get him to play baseball. They took him in the 30th round of the 2000 draft — even though Vick hadn’t played baseball since middle school.
Jake Locker
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim took Jake Locker in the 10th round of the 2009 draft. Locker, a highly touted outfield prospect, appeared to be on board with that plan, signing a contract with the team. However, he opted for an NFL career with the Tennessee Titans that did not pan out well.
Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 41st round of the 2007 MLB Draft. He also was chosen by the Colorado Rockies in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. He played two seasons of minor league ball and hit .229. He wound up in the Texas Rangers system and they traded him to the New York Yankees in 2018.
Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray signed with the Oakland Athletics after being drafted ninth overall in 2018. He decided to forgo a baseball career, returning his bonus, and was chosen first overall by the Arizona Cardinals.
