DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — Quarterback Ryan Mallett, who played five seasons in the NFL, died in an apparent drowning Tuesday at a Florida Panhandle beach. He was 35.
Mallett was a football coach at White Hall High School in his native Arkansas, and the school district confirmed his death in a post on its website on Tuesday.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department said first responders were called to the beach at a tourist condo complex in Destin around 2:12 p.m.; a group of about 10 people who had been on a sandbar were having trouble swimming back to the beach. Mallett, who was among them, went under the water and was not breathing when he was pulled out.
The sheriff’s office said a rip current was thought to have been a factor.
Mallett played for the University of Michigan for one season before finishing his college career at Arkansas. He passed for 7,493 yards and 62 touchdowns in two seasons with the Razorbacks.
He was selected by New England in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. He appeared in four games with the Patriots during the 2012 season. He made six starts in nine games with the Houston Texans and two starts in eight appearances with the Baltimore Ravens. He completed 190 of his 345 attempts in the NFL for 1,835 yards and nine touchdowns with 10 interceptions.