Brian Mitchell

Brian Keith Mitchell (born August 18, 1968) is an American former professional football player who was a running back and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a quarterback for the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL draft. Mitchell is considered one of the greatest return specialists in NFL history.

Mitchell also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. He is currently second on the NFL's all-time all-purpose yardage with 23,330 yards, behind Jerry Rice. He is also first all-time for combined yardage for a non-wide receiver. His 13 special teams touchdowns are second in NFL history, behind Devin Hester, and his nine punt return touchdowns are third behind Eric Metcalf with 10, and Hester with 14. Mitchell was ranked the second greatest specialist in NFL history by NFL Network's NFL Top 10 Return Aces.

As of February 2021, Mitchell began co-hosting the radio show "BMitch and Finlay" on WJFK-FM with JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington.

Early life Mitchell was the son of a career U.S. Army soldier and the youngest of seven children, born in Fort Polk, Louisiana. He played football at Plaquemine High School.

College career Mitchell attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), where he played quarterback.

At Southwestern Louisiana, Mitchell became the first player in NCAA history to pass for more than 5,000 yards (5,447) and rush for more than 3,000 yards (3,335). He also held the NCAA record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (47). As a senior, he rushed for 1,311 yards and passed for 1,966 yards while accounting for 25 touchdowns (six passing, 19 rushing). Yet, in his college career, he never returned a punt or a kickoff.

Professional career

Mitchell was selected in the fifth round (130th overall) of the 1990 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins.

Washington Redskins As a rookie, Mitchell started off his career by returning the opening kickoff of the Redskins first pre-season game for a touchdown. During a Monday Night Football game that came to be known as "The Body Bag Game" on November 12, 1990, Mitchell had to be subbed in as quarterback after the Philadelphia Eagles knocked the Redskins' starting and backup quarterbacks out of the game. Mitchell went 3-for-6 for 40 yards passing and ran for a touchdown.

During his second season with the Redskins in 1991, Mitchell led the NFL in punt return yards (600) and punt return touchdowns (two), helping his team to an appearance in Super Bowl XXVI, where Washington defeated the Buffalo Bills 37–24.

Mitchell continued to play for the Redskins until 1999, leading the NFL in punt return average (14.1) and touchdowns (two) in 1994, and making a Pro Bowl selection in 1995. He also led the league in combined yards every season from 1994 through 1996, and again in 1998. He is one of only two players to lead the league in that statistical category at least four times. The other is Hall of Famer Jim Brown, who did it five times.

In 2002, Mitchell was one of only two players to be ranked in the top seven in both kickoff returns and punt returns (the other being Michael Lewis of the New Orleans Saints). He was the only player in the NFC to be ranked in the top three in both categories. Mitchell was second in the NFC and third in the NFL with a career-high 27.0-yard average on 43 kickoff returns.

He is also one of only six players to record four seasons of over 2,000 total yards, (the others being Tiki Barber, Eric Dickerson, Marshall Faulk, Dante Hall, and Darren Sproles) and missed out on a fifth season by only five yards.

He was inducted into the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame at FedEx Field during the 2009 season.

On September 14, 2016, Mitchell was nominated for the 2017 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he was not selected as a finalist. On September 22, 2021, he was nominated for the 2022 class.

NFL career statistics Legend Won the Super Bowl NFL record Led the league Bold Career high

Return specialist statistics

Rushing and receiving statistics

NFL records Combined kickoff and punt return yards: 19,013 Combined kickoff and punt returns: 1,070 Kickoff return yards: 14,014 Kickoff returns: 607 Punt return yards: 4,999 Punt returns: 463 Fair catches: 231

Life after football

On television Since retiring, Mitchell has been a TV and radio host and analyst for a variety of outlets. On TV, he is currently the NFL analyst for WUSA-TV in Washington D.C., where he co-hosts the station's Sunday night wrap-up program entitled "Sports Plus. Additionally, Mitchell co-hosts "Sports Talk Live" with ex-hog Ric "Doc" Walker and can be seen on Redskins Pre/Post Game Live, both on NBC Sports Washington in Washington, D.C.

On radio On radio, Mitchell was the host of The Brian Mitchell Show on WTEM, located in Rockville, Maryland, until the show ended on April 27, 2007 because of program lineup changes. He then moved to The John Thompson Show as co-host. During the 2008 season on an edition of "The John Thompson Show," Mitchell got into a heated argument with Redskins running back Clinton Portis, who was a guest on the show. Mitchell served as a frequent guest and guest host on "The Sports Junkies" and the "Mike Wise Show" on 106.7 The Fan. Brian announced on the January 21, 2010 edition of the Mike Wise Show that he would have his own show on Saturdays from 10–3 on 106.7 The Fan. He also runs the Brian Mitchell Football Camp throughout Virginia. Since March 2012, Mitchell has co-hosted ESPN 980's Inside The Locker Room with former Redskin Rick Walker and local DC area broadcaster Scott Jackson. In 2018, The Brian Mitchell Show returned with Mitchell hosting alongside Scott Linn.

In February 2021, 106.7 the Fan in Washington announced their new radio show, BMitch and Finlay, that is co-hosted by Mitchell and NBC 4 Washington Commanders beat reporter JP Finlay. The show replaced Chad Dukes Vs. the World after the radio station fired the show's host, Chad Dukes.

Personal life Mitchell has four children with his wife Monica. He founded the Brian Mitchell Foundation in 2001 to help disadvantaged children in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and his hometown of Plaquemine, Louisiana.