UL Athlete (1986-89) Brian Mitchell

[ChanceEncounter]

"Mitchell's most remarkable statistic: over 13 seasons and 32 postseason games with the Redskins and the Eagles, he has had a total of 1,737 returns, rushes and receptions, not to mention all his fair catches, but he has fumbled only twice. If the N.F.L. kept a least-fumble stat, he might be the career leader there, too."


Only 2 fumbles? DANG

[Turbine]

Originally posted by ChanceEncounter
Only 2 fumbles? DANG

EVER?

Now that is hard to comprehend, and it certainly should be considered in his Hall of Fame notes.

[RaginEsquire06]

One of the best athletes that I've witnessed and played with in my life. I've played with some great ones too. "Emmitt Smith, Class of 87' Escambia High"

[NewsCopy]

The Washington Redskins have agreed to allow Brian Mitchell, the NFL's career leader in punt and kickoff return yards, to retire with the team despite an acrimonious departure following the 1999 season when he was released with three years remaining on his contract.

Mitchell played 10 seasons for the Redskins, then spent three more seasons with Philadelphia and last year with the New York Giants. He recently spoke with owner Daniel Snyder about signing a one-day contract with the Redskins and immediately retiring, a common practice around the NFL.

Team spokesman Karl Swanson said yesterday that Snyder had approved the request from one of the franchise's most popular players, but because of salary cap technicalities, it probably won't happen until after the season has ended. "If that's the way Brian wants it, we're happy to do it," Swanson said. "Dan is all for it."

Mitchell, 36, and a 14-year NFL veteran, had hoped to play in 2004, though once the Giants announced the hiring of Coach Tom Coughlin, he knew it wouldn't be in New York. Mitchell said he first met Coughlin, then the Jacksonville coach, when he became a free agent in 1996. "I made it known to [Coughlin] back then that I didn't think I could deal with his way of doing things," Mitchell said in an interview. "And if he didn't like my stuff then, he sure wasn't going to like me now."

He said he has had a number of inquiries from teams, several telling him to stay in shape in case they needed him. But so far there have been no calls and Mitchell said he has basically come to terms with the end of his football career. He has done some TV work as a Redskins analyst for Comcast SportsNet this fall, and also has an interest in a local bio-tech business.

Still, he said he would seriously consider returning if a team asked him to play a few more games this year, if only to help a playoff push while also trying to catch Seattle wide receiver Jerry Rice for the league's all-time combined yardage record.

Mitchell started the 2004 season holding that NFL record, with 23,330 yards gained rushing, receiving and returning. Rice, 42 and in his 20th season, caught eight passes for 145 yards on Dec. 6 in the Seahawks' Monday night loss to the Cowboys and pulled ahead of Mitchell. Rice now has 23,521 combined yards.

The rest of the story

Leonard Shapiro
Washington Post

[DaddyCajun]

I would love to see Mitchell get picked up now, do a great job and stay on another year or so to pass up for good Jerry Rice!!!

DaddyCajun!!!

[cajun11]

does anyone have more pics of brian

[Turbine]

Originally posted by cajun11
does anyone have more pics of brian

This PAGE has one then there are more on page 2.

[El Sidonio]

I want to believe the caption under the pic, but was Brian REALLY a Heisman trophy candidate?

God Bless.

[NewsCopy]

The first time Brian Mitchell handled the football as a Washington Redskin, he returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. Nine seasons later in his final game as a Redskin, Mitchell also took a kickoff to the house.

Mitchell left the Redskins in 2000 after an acrimonious dispute with owner Dan Snyder and the front office, but he never really left Washington. Although he played the next four seasons for Philadelphia and the New York Giants before closing his career as the most productive kick returner in NFL history, Mitchell's family remained in Northern Virginia.

With his first coach, Joe Gibbs, back again and with his relationship with club management repaired, Mitchell will re-sign with Washington on Wednesday in order to officially retire as a Redskin at 36.

Mitchell had hoped to play in 2004 after being released by the Giants but went unsigned. Still, the one-time option quarterback at Southwestern Louisiana accumulated 23,330 combined yards, second only to the 23,546 of all-time leading receiver Jerry Rice.

Mitchell led the league in combined yards from 1994 to 1996, joining immortal running backs Jim Brown and Gale Sayers as the only players to do so three straight seasons.

Mitchell holds NFL records for combined kick return yards (19,013), combined kick returns (1,070), combined kick return touchdowns (13), kickoff return yards (14,014), kickoff returns (607), punt return yards (4,999), punt returns (463), and fair catches (231).

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By David Elfin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

[NewsCopy]

ASHBURN, Va. - Brian Mitchell, one of the NFL's top return men and holder of nine league records, will sign a one-day contract next week so that he can retire with the Washington Redskins.
Mitchell will reunite with coach Joe Gibbs for the ceremony Wednesday at Redskins Park. Mitchell was on the team Gibbs coached to the Super Bowl title after the 1991 season.

Mitchell, 37, was a fifth-round pick in 1990 and spent 10 seasons with the Redskins. He was released in 2000, then played for three seasons with Philadelphia and one with the New York Giants. He was cut by the Giants a year ago and did not play in 2004.

"I started here. I played 10 years here. My home is here. I never wanted to leave Washington. I wanted to retire as a Redskin way back," Mitchell told WTEM-AM radio.

Mitchell holds NFL records for combined kick return yards (19,013), combined kick returns (1,070), combined kick returns for a touchdown (13), kickoff return yards (14,014), kickoff returns (607), punt return yards (4,999) and punt returns (463).

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[NewsCopy]

Mitchell hanging up cleats

Brian Mitchell was arguably the best player in the football history of Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns.

He moved on to the National Football League and became the most prolific kick returner in pro football history in stops with the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants.

Next Wednesday, Mitchell will sign a one-day contract with the Redskins and retire after 14 seasons in the league.

Mitchell was last active with the Giants in 2003, was then released and was inactive last season.

In retirement, Mitchell will reunite with coach Joe Gibbs for the ceremony at Redskins Park. Mitchell was on the team Gibbs coached to the Super Bowl title after the 1991 season.

The 37-year-old Mitchell was a fifth-round pick in 1990 and spent 10 seasons with the Redskins. He was released in 2000, then played for three seasons with Philadelphia and one with the Giants. He was cut by the Giants a year ago and did not play in 2004.

Mitchell said he has put behind him the animosity he's had toward Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who cut Mitchell five years ago to make room for an aging Deion Sanders.

"I started here. I played 10 years here. My home is here. I never wanted to leave Washington. I wanted to retire as a Redskin way back," Mitchell told WTEM-AM radio.

"Things changed. I left upset and with an attitude, but you get over things, and I made a phone call to Dan Snyder and expressed what I wanted to do, and he agreed with it."

Mitchell holds NFL records for combined kick return yards (19,013), combined kick returns (1,070), combined kick returns for a touchdown (13), kickoff return yards (14,014), kickoff returns (607), punt return yards (4,999), punt returns (463) and fair catches (231).

He was also the leader in all-purpose yards (23,330) until Jerry Rice (23,546) passed him in December.

Mitchell's re-signing and retirement is similar to the recent retirement announcement of NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith, who played with Dallas from 1990-2002 before being cut loose for salary cap reasons and spending the last two seaons with the Arizona Cardinals.

Smith signed a one-day deal with Dallas to retire with the team that drafted him.

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[NewsCopy]

Despite an acrimonious departure from the team in 1999, Brian Mitchell will retire as a Washington Redskin. From the DC Post:

The Washington Redskins announced yesterday that former running back Brian Mitchell will officially retire as a member of the team on Wednesday, bringing closure to what was a damaged relationship between the popular player and the franchise. Mitchell, a standout return specialist who spent 10 seasons in Washington, will sign with the Redskins on Wednesday and then announce his retirement at a news conference at Redskins Park

Mitchell was cut from the Redskins following the 1999 season in what was the signature move of the early Dan Snyder years. He was axed to create salary cap room for the signing of Deion Sanders .

At the time, Mitchell had some bad words for Snyder and the Redskins, but he's put it all behind him. He told WTEM radio:

I started here. I played 10 years here. My home is here. I never wanted to leave Washington. I wanted to retire as a Redskin way back. Things changed. I left upset and with an attitude, but you get over things, and I made a phone call to Dan Snyder and expressed what I wanted to do, and he agreed with it.

He has compiled some pretty impressive career stats. From the AP
Mitchell holds NFL records for combined kick return yards (19,013), combined kick returns (1,070), combined kick returns for a touchdown (13), kickoff return yards (14,014), kickoff returns (607), punt return yards (4,999), punt returns (463) and fair catches (231). He was also the leader in all-purpose yards (23,330) until Jerry Rice (23,546) passed him in December.

Compiled numbers are one thing, snapshots in the memory are another. Two of them stand out. One was in 1991, his first game as the full-time punt returner. In the season opener, he returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown and he made it look easy, getting a forward burst of speed after fielding the kick, making a cut and that was it. Then, in his last game as a Redskin, getting the second-half kickoff down the right sideline for a touchdown that gave his team a 13-0 lead against the Bucs. They would relinquish that lead and lose 14-13.

The big returns, however, are not his enduring legacy. Mitchell achieved his record numbers not by breaking a bunch of long returns, but by getting a 15-yard punt return when the blocking would have netted the average returner nine, by ploughing into the pile on a kickoff return to get an extra four yards of field position for the Redskins. Multiply that by his 1,070 combined kick returns and you have a lot of extra yards.

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