 Mills during the Patriots 2007 training camp | |||||||
| No. 45, 86, 89 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Tight end | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1983-10-12)October 12, 1983 (age 42) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Jenks (Jenks, Oklahoma) | ||||||
| College | Tulsa | ||||||
| NFL draft | 2006: 4th round, 106th overall pick | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Michael Garrett Mills (born October 12, 1983) is an American former professionalfootballtight end. He was selected by theNew England Patriots in the fourth round of the2006 NFL draft. He played college football atTulsa.
Mills also played for theMinnesota Vikings,Philadelphia Eagles, andCincinnati Bengals.
Mills attendedJenks High School inJenks, Oklahoma and was a good student and a standout in football and basketball. In football, he led his teams to three Class 6A State Titles, was a three-year starter as a tight end, and as a senior he was named the District Player of the Year and he was named the Tulsa World News Player of the Year. In basketball, Mills was a three-year letterman. Mills graduated from Jenks High School in 2002.
He played college football for theUniversity of Tulsa, where he set anNCAA record in the 2005 season with 1,235 yards receiving (on 87 receptions), the most yards earned receiving by a tight end in a single season.[1] He won theMVP for the 2005C-USA Championship game and was anAll-America selection.
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft1+1⁄8 in (1.86 m) | 241 lb (109 kg) | 31+5⁄8 in (0.80 m) | 9+5⁄8 in (0.24 m) | 4.68 s | 1.60 s | 2.69 s | 4.05 s | 6.81 s | 35.5 in (0.90 m) | 9 ft 3 in (2.82 m) | 23 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[2][3] | ||||||||||||
Mills was selected in the fourth round (106th overall) of the2006 NFL draft by the Patriots.[4] He was not expected to play solely at tight end in the NFL (unlikeDavid Thomas, the Texas tight end the Patriots drafted just before Mills); the Patriots' depth chart once listed him at both tight end andfullback.
Given that Mills was fourth on the Patriots' depth chart at tight end, he did not see any playing time during the regular season, and was placed on injured reserve in the middle of the 2006 season.
On September 1, 2007, the Patriots released Mills.
Mills was claimed off waivers on September 2, 2007, by theMinnesota Vikings and made his regular season debut in the season finale against theDenver Broncos and had his first career reception. Mills was released by the Vikings on September 4, 2010, as part of final cuts in preparation for the beginning of the 2010 NFL season.
Mills was signed to thePhiladelphia Eagles'practice squad on September 6, 2010. He was promoted to the active roster on September 13. He was waived on December 21.
Mills was claimed off waivers by theCincinnati Bengals on December 22, 2010. He was waived on August 16, 2011.
Mills was claimed off waivers by the Patriots on August 21, but was waived again on August 29. Mills re-signed to the Patriotspractice squad on September 14, 2011.