FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA) — Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett has died while vacationing in Florida. He was 35.
Mallett was reportedly among a group of people in the water near a sandbar off the shores of Destin, Florida on Tuesday, according to Nexstar’s WKRG. The group was struggling to make their way out of the water, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office reported, when Mallett went under.
Lifeguards said he was not breathing when he was pulled from the water.
Despite life-saving measures, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said Mallett was pronounced dead at a Destin hospital.
Mallett was a five-star football recruit out of Texarkana (Texas) Texas High School who first went to Michigan but later transferred to Arkansas for the 2009-10 seasons.
Following his career at Arkansas, Mallett was drafted in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Mallett played for the Patriots from 2011-14 before playing with the Houston Texans in 2014-15 and the Baltimore Ravens in 2015-17.
Mallett had been serving as the head football coach at White Hall High School in Arkansas and recently brought a group of campers to the University of Arkansas.
“It is with great sadness that we share the loss of Coach Ryan Mallett,” a notice on the school district’s website reads. “We ask that you remember his family, team, students, fellow coaches, and the White Hall School District staff in your prayers.”
Mallett played in 21 games during his NFL career, making eight starts, according to ESPN.
“I am extremely saddened by Ryan’s tragic passing,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said in a statement posted to the team’s Twitter account Tuesday. “My thoughts and prayers are with his family and the many people whose lives he touched.”
