Former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray announced on his Twitter page Monday that he is “firmly and fully committing my life and time to becoming an NFL quarterback.”
Murray, who won the Heisman Trophy last season, is one of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s class, joining Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Missouri’s Drew Lock.
Murray is poised to become the first athlete to be selected in the first round of the MLB draft and the first round of the NFL draft. He was selected 9th overall by the Oakland Athletics in last year’s MLB draft.
“Football has been my love and passion my entire life,” Murray said. “I was raised to play QB, and I very much look forward to dedicating 100% of myself to being the best QB possible and winning NFL championships.
“I have started an extensive training program to further prepare myself for upcoming NFL workouts and interviews. I eagerly await the opportunity to continue to prove to NFL decision makers that I am the franchise QB in this draft.”
Murray’s contract with the Athletics included nearly $5 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He will have to pay that back if he does not report to spring training this week.
Monday’s announcement seems to imply Murray won’t be reporting to Oakland, choosing to instead focus on the upcoming NFL combine. The Broncos need a quarterback but general manager John Elway may not view Murray as an ideal prospect.
Elway selected a 6-7 Brock Osweiler over a 5-11 Russell Wilson in 2012 and traded up for a 6-7 Paxton Lynch in 2016. It’s hard to imagine him selecting a 5-11 Murray over a 6-4 Lock in April’s draft.
