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| No. 19 | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1968-01-02)January 2, 1968 (age 58) Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Springville(Springville, Utah) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Utah (1986–1989) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1990: 4th round, 93rd overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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William Scott Mitchell (born January 2, 1968)[1] is an American former professionalfootball player who was aquarterback for 12 seasons in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theUtah Utes and was selected in the fourth round of the1990 NFL draft by theMiami Dolphins. Mitchell played in the NFL for the Dolphins,Detroit Lions,Baltimore Ravens, andCincinnati Bengals, as well as theOrlando Thunder of theWorld League of American Football.
Mitchell played for theUtah Utes. As a sophomore in 1988, he completed 323 of 533 attempts for 4,322 yards and 29 touchdowns - leading the nation in all four categories (the 29 touchdown passes was tied withMiami'sSteve Walsh). He ended the season with 10 NCAA records, most notably setting a single-game record with 631 yards passing in a 56-49 loss toAir Force.
His statistics declined somewhat the following year (1989), although he still managed to throw for 3,211 yards and 31 touchdowns. The 31 touchdown passes ranked third among players nationally, behindHeisman Trophy winnerAndre Ware atHouston andTy Detmer at rivalBYU. Mitchell decided to forgo his senior season and entered the1990 NFL draft. He ended his college career as Utah's all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns.
| Season | Team | Passing | Rushing | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1987 | Utah | 109 | 188 | 58.0 | 1,448 | 7.7 | 9 | 4 | 134.2 | 21 | -44 | -2.1 | 1 |
| 1988 | Utah | 323 | 533 | 60.6 | 4,322 | 8.1 | 29 | 15 | 141.0 | 56 | -23 | -0.4 | 0 |
| 1989 | Utah | 237 | 444 | 53.4 | 3,211 | 7.2 | 31 | 19 | 128.6 | 64 | -78 | -1.2 | 2 |
| Career[2] | 669 | 1,165 | 57.4 | 8,981 | 7.7 | 69 | 38 | 135.2 | 141 | -145 | -1.0 | 3 | |
Mitchell was selected by theMiami Dolphins in the fourth round (93rd overall) of the1990 NFL draft.[3] He served asDan Marino's back-up for three seasons but found most of his time spent with theOrlando Thunder of theNFL Europe in 1992 as a volunteer. That year, he joined a lawsuit with twelve other players (most notably involvingFreeman McNeil andMarcus Allen) in an antitrust suit against the NFL that saw unrestricted free agency soon come to the league. Mitchell became the Dolphins'starting quarterback in 1993 when Marino ruptured his Achilles tendon in week 6 at Cleveland that saw him miss the rest of the season. Tapped to start, Mitchell dislocated his left shoulder in Week 11 that knocked him out for four games. He returned to start the final three games of the season, which all resulted in losses as the once 9-2 Dolphins floundered to a 9-7 finish. In total, Mitchell had gone 3-4 as a starter with 1,773 passing yards and 12 touchdowns to 8 interceptions and a passer rating of 84.2.[4][5]
Based on his performances that year, Mitchell was signed as afree agent by theDetroit Lions on March 6, 1994 on a three-year contract worth $11 million (having rejected a deal by Miami to pay him $1.5 million-per-year deal as a backup), complete with a $5 million signing bonus, the second largest bonus in league history.[6][7] Mitchell joined a Detroitoffense that includedrunning backBarry Sanders andreceiversHerman Moore andBrett Perriman. He was tapped to start from the first week of the season, but the team struggled. In his first home game at thePontiac Silverdome, he received boos that would occur in every subsequent game in his tenure; he threw eleven interceptions in his first eight starts. In a loss to theGreen Bay Packers, Mitchell went down with an injury, and was replaced by backup quarterbackDave Krieg, who led the team to the1994 playoffs. Offensive tackleLomas Brown, onESPN programFirst Take later admitted to purposefully missing a block that resulted in this injury, as he was upset over Mitchell's poor play.[8] However, a review of game film and play-by-play logs of the game by football historian Andy Barall fails to corroborate Brown's recollection of what occurred, as Sanders apparently had failed to pick up a safety that was blitzing on Mitchell.[9][10] Mitchell regained his starting position the following year.
In 1995, he set single-season records for the Lions intouchdownpasses (32) and passing yards (4,338), both of which were later eclipsed byMatthew Stafford. The team reached the playoffs thatNFL playoffs inyear, going 13-of-29 for 155 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions in a 58–37 loss whereDon Majkowski replaced Mitchell when the team was trailing 51–7 in the third quarter. The following year, the Lions were 4-3 prior to Mitchell suffering an injury in practice where he pulled a muscle off his ribs that saw him take a hospital visit to put a needle in his ribs to try and deaden the pain. While the needles eventually helped the pain, he could not throw effectively, with the team losing six straight starts with Mitchell's injury-plagued play. The team went 5-11 and Fontes was fired.Bobby Ross was hired to be the new head coach, who favored a power-running style rather than the "spread offense" of the past. He soon sparred with Mitchell, where he reportedly barred him from meeting the new offensive coordinatorSylvester Croom or allowing him to speak to the Ford family, who had decided to keep Mitchell around as quarterback with a four-year extension worth $21 million with a signing bonus of $8 million (as not overseen by Ross). Apparently, Sanders held out for a time until his average per year exceeded Mitchell's rate; Mitchell once stated that “It was challenging to play with him", stating that the team as a whole excelled best underTom Moore, who had been the offensive coordinator from 1994 to 1996.
The team reached the playoffs again in1997. Facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he went 10-of-25 for 78 yards and an interception before being knocked out with a concussion in the third quarter (whereFrank Reich replaced him) in a 20-10 loss. Mitchell stayed with the Lions through the1998 season, when he lost the starting quarterback job to rookieCharlie Batch. Made expendable after the Lions signedGus Frerotte two weeks earlier, Mitchell was dealt to theBaltimore Ravens on March 16, 1999, for a third-round draft pickthat year and a fifth-rounder in2000.
Years later, Mitchell stated that he was "a very good player" in his time in Detroit while believing that his achievements there were minimized, whether out of jealousy or unreasonable expectations, stating that "I always felt I have been unjustly criticized." Brown described the team's failures as not so much about Mitchell as it "was failing to put the right coaching, schemes and systems around him." Mitchell reiterated his defense of his tenure in Detroit in the wake of the 2023 documentaryBye Bye Barry. While the documentary did not mention Mitchell by name, he took the documentary (which featured interviews of people such as Fontes) as implicitly blaming him for the reason that the Lions never won (or even make) aSuper Bowl, stating that all were to blame to not make the Super Bowl, not just him, stating "I will believe until I die that had we been given more time and patience with the offense, we had and the talent we had we could have made a deep run in the playoffs and competed to win a Super Bowl."[11][12][13]
After not being able to acquireBrad Johnson from theMinnesota Vikings,[14] the Ravens settled for Mitchell who signed a one-year $3 million contract upon his arrival in Baltimore.[15] He completed 24 of 56 passes for 236 yards, threw a touchdown pass and was intercepted four times beforeStoney Case replaced him as starting quarterback during the third quarter of a 23–20 loss to thePittsburgh Steelers in a Week 2 home opener atPSINet Stadium on September 19.[16] He saw no further action with the Ravens and became an unrestricted free agent following the1999 season.[17]
Mitchell signed with theCincinnati Bengals on March 9, 2000. He was the veteran backup toAkili Smith afterJeff Blake signed as a free agent with theNew Orleans Saints.[18] He retired as an active player following the2001 season.
| Year | Team | Games | Passing | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | TD | Int | Rtg | ||
| 1992 | MIA | 16 | 0 | – | 2 | 8 | 25.0 | 32 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 4.2 |
| 1993 | MIA | 13 | 7 | 3–4 | 133 | 233 | 57.1 | 1,773 | 7.6 | 12 | 8 | 84.2 |
| 1994 | DET | 9 | 9 | 4–5 | 119 | 246 | 48.4 | 1,456 | 5.9 | 10 | 11 | 62.0 |
| 1995 | DET | 16 | 16 | 10–6 | 346 | 583 | 59.3 | 4,338 | 7.4 | 32 | 12 | 92.3 |
| 1996 | DET | 14 | 14 | 4–10 | 253 | 437 | 57.9 | 2,917 | 6.7 | 17 | 17 | 74.9 |
| 1997 | DET | 16 | 16 | 9–7 | 293 | 509 | 57.6 | 3,484 | 6.9 | 19 | 14 | 79.6 |
| 1998 | DET | 2 | 2 | 0–2 | 38 | 75 | 50.7 | 452 | 6.0 | 1 | 3 | 57.2 |
| 1999 | BAL | 2 | 2 | 0–2 | 24 | 56 | 42.9 | 236 | 4.2 | 1 | 4 | 31.5 |
| 2000 | CIN | 8 | 5 | 2–3 | 89 | 187 | 47.6 | 966 | 5.2 | 3 | 8 | 50.8 |
| 2001 | CIN | 1 | 0 | – | 4 | 12 | 33.3 | 38 | 3.2 | 0 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Career[19] | 97 | 71 | 32–39 | 1,301 | 2,346 | 55.5 | 15,692 | 6.70 | 95 | 81 | 73.5 | |
In February 2008, Mitchell was announced as the head football coach of his alma mater,Springville High School inUtah.[20] He stepped down from his coaching position in January 2012 to spend more time on his software business.[21]
Mitchell has five children. As of 2025, he currently serves as the color commentator for Utah football on ESPN 700.[22]
In his bookAlive Again: The Biggest Loser Contestant and Former NFL Quarterback Shares His Intriguing Journey, Mitchell admitted his struggles with weight, in which he gained twenty pounds during the offseason that he would drop prior to the regular season (never being fined for failing to make his prescribed playing weight of 235 pounds). In 2014, Mitchell had reached 366 pounds (166 kg). He was a contestant on Season 16 of the reality competitionThe Biggest Loser, titledThe Biggest Loser: Glory Days,[23] which premiered on September 11, 2014, on NBC.[24] Tiring of the cardio and healthy meal preparation in the middle of the show, he had planned to quit, feeling himself to be a failure. While taking a hike in the Santa Monica mountains and resting on a dirt trail, he heard a voice that told him, “If you quit now, you’ll regret this for the rest of your life.” The next morning, he was motivated to stay on the show. Mitchell was eliminated in week 15 as the last player eliminated from "comeback canyon", losing his final weigh-in to Howard "Woody" Carter, having lost 124 pounds.[25] He wrote a book about his life and weight-loss experiences in 2015.[26] Mitchell has since tried to manage his weight and health, which saw him weigh 418 pounds in 2023; in January 2024, his kidneys shut down and he developed blood clots in his lungs but he eventually made a recovery.
Mitchell is anEagle Scout.[27]
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