Brian Mitchell

Mitchell in 2022
No. 30
Positions	Running back Return specialist
Personal information
Born	(1968-08-18)August 18, 1968 (age 57) Fort Polk, Louisiana, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	221 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High school	Plaquemine(Plaquemine, Louisiana)
College	Southwestern Louisiana (1986–1989)
NFL draft	1990: 5th round, 130th overall pick
Career history
Washington Redskins (1990–1999) Philadelphia Eagles (2000–2002) New York Giants (2003)
Awards and highlights
Super Bowl champion (XXVI) First-teamAll-Pro (1995) 2× Second-team All-Pro (1991,1994) Pro Bowl (1995) NFL punt return yards leader (1991) Washington Redskins 70th Anniversary Team Washington Commanders 90 Greatest Washington Commanders Ring of Fame NFL records Most career kickoff return yards: 14,014 Most career punt return yards: 4,999 Most career total return yards: 19,013
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards 1,967 Rushing average 5.1 Rushingtouchdowns 12 Receptions 255 Receiving yards 2,336 Receiving touchdowns 4 Return yards 19,013 Return touchdowns 13 Stats atPro Football Reference

Brian Keith Mitchell (born August 18, 1968) is an American former professionalfootball player who was arunning back andreturn specialist in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football as aquarterback for theSouthwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and was selected by theWashington Redskins in the fifth round of the1990 NFL draft.Mitchell is considered one of the greatest return specialists in NFL history.^[1]

Mitchell also played for thePhiladelphia Eagles and theNew York Giants. He is currently second on theNFL's all-time all-purpose yardage with 23,330 yards, behindJerry Rice. He is also first all-time for combined yardage for a non-wide receiver. His 13 special teamstouchdowns are second in NFL history, behindDevin Hester, and his nine punt return touchdowns are third behindEric Metcalf with 10, and Hester with 14. Mitchell was ranked the second greatest specialist in NFL history byNFL Network'sNFL Top 10 Return Aces.

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

Mitchell was the son of a careerU.S. Army soldier and the youngest of seven children, born inFort Polk, Louisiana. He played football atPlaquemine High School.

Mitchell attended theUniversity of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), where he playedquarterback.

At Southwestern Louisiana, Mitchell became the first player inNCAA 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.^[2]

Mitchell was selected in thefifth round (130th overall) of the1990 NFL draft by theWashington Redskins.^[4]

As arookie, Mitchell started off his career by returning the opening kickoff of the Redskins first pre-season game for a touchdown. During aMonday 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 thePhiladelphia 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 inSuper Bowl XXVI, where Washington defeated theBuffalo 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 aPro 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 isHall of FamerJim Brown, who did it five times.^[2]

Mitchell was released following the 1999 season with the arrival of a new owner,Daniel Snyder.

Mitchell signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2000, and played for them until 2002. Despite only playing with the team for three years, Mitchell left as the franchise's all-time leader in punt return yards, and retains this record to this day.^[5]

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 beingMichael Lewis of theNew 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.^[2] Mitchell was also third in the NFC and seventh in the NFL with a 12.3-yard punt return average on 46 punts. He returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown against theSan Francisco 49ers on November 25. It was Mitchell's 13th career kick returned for a touchdown, breaking a tie withEric Metcalf and ranking Mitchell first in the record book. That week, he also set a record for kick return yards in a single game with 206 yards on six kick returns.^[2]

He then signed with theNew York Giants for the 2003 season.^[2] He was released before the 2004 season. He then re-signed to a one-day contract with the Washington Redskins, allowing him to retire a Redskin.

Parts of this article (those related to HOF results) need to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2023)

Mitchell is the NFL's second all-time leader in total yardage, second only toJerry Rice with 23,330 yards, thanks in large part to his 14,014 yards from kickoff returns and his 4,999 punt return yards. Both are NFL records, and his 875 postseason kickoff return yards are a record as well. He also rushed for 1,967 yards on 388 carries (avg. 5.1 rushing yards), caught 255 passes for 2,336 yards, recovered 20 fumbles for 14 return yards, and scored 29 touchdowns (four kickoff returns, nine punt returns, 12 rushing, and four receiving). His 13 special teams touchdowns rank second in the NFL only behind Devin Hester. His nine punt return touchdowns rank third behind Hester (11) andEric Metcalf (10).

Mitchell also holds the NFL record for most combined yards by any one player against a single opponent: 3,076 all-purpose yards against the Dallas Cowboys. He also holds the record for most all-purpose yards in a single decade.^[6]

He is also one of only six players to record four seasons of over 2,000 total yards, (the others beingTiki Barber,Eric Dickerson,Marshall Faulk,Dante Hall, andDarren Sproles) and missed out on a fifth season by only five yards.^[7]

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

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

• Combined kickoff and punt return yards: 19,013^[9]
• Combined kickoff and punt returns: 1,070^[10]
• Kickoff return yards: 14,014^[11]
• Kickoff returns: 607^[12]
• Punt return yards: 4,999^[13]
• Punt returns: 463^[14]
• Fair catches: 231^{[citation needed]}

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 forWUSA-TV inWashington 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 onRedskins Pre/Post Game Live, both onNBC Sports Washington in Washington, D.C.

On radio, Mitchell was the host ofThe Brian Mitchell Show onWTEM, located inRockville, Maryland, until the show ended on April 27, 2007 because of program lineup changes. He then moved toTheJohn 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 throughoutVirginia. Since March 2012, Mitchell has co-hostedESPN 980'sInside The Locker Room with former RedskinRick 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 andNBC Sports Washington's Washington Football Team beat reporter JP Finlay.^[15] The show replaced Chad Dukes Vs. the World after the radio station fired the show's host,Chad Dukes.^[16]

Mitchell has four children with his wife Monica.^[2] He founded the Brian Mitchell Foundation in 2001 to help disadvantaged children inPhiladelphia, Washington, D.C., and his hometown ofPlaquemine, Louisiana.^[2]

• Brian Mitchell Foundation
• Career statistics fromNFL.com · ESPN · Pro Football Reference

• 1968 births
• Living people
• 20th-century African-American sportsmen
• 21st-century African-American sportsmen
• American football quarterbacks
• American football return specialists
• American football running backs
• Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns football players
• National Conference Pro Bowl players
• New York Giants players
• People from Plaquemine, Louisiana
• People from Vernon Parish, Louisiana
• Philadelphia Eagles players
• Players of American football from Louisiana
• Washington Redskins players
• 21st-century American sportsmen
• 20th-century American sportsmen

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