Matthew Ben Mulligan (born January 18, 1985) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at The University of Maine. Mulligan was signed by the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2008. He has also been a member of the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

. He currently serves as a volunteer strength and conditioning coach for the Black Bears.

Early years

Mulligan lived in Enfield, Maine and attended high school at

Penobscot Valley High School Penobscot Valley High School (PVHS) is a 9–12 school serving approximately 140 students in Howland, Maine, United States. PVHS also employs approximately 28 teachers. PVHS is the only 9-12 school in SAU 31. Notable achievements On Decembe ...

Howland, Maine Howland is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States, which was settled in 1818. It was named after John Howland, one of the passengers on the ''Mayflower''. The population was 1,094 at the 2020 census. Geography The town is on the west ...

. After high school, he enrolled at

Husson University Husson University is a private university in Bangor, Maine. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and as of Fall 2020 had a total enrollment of 3,476 students, including 799 graduate students in master's and doctoral programs. Husson Un ...

. Despite never playing the sport in high school, Mulligan joined Husson's football team as a tight end and thrived, transferring to the University of Maine the following season.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Mulligan was signed by the

as an

in 2008. He was released from the Dolphins on August 30 during final cuts. However, the Dolphins re-signed him to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the following day. Mulligan remained on the practice squad until his release on November 5.

Tennessee Titans

Mulligan was signed to the

of the

on November 19, 2008. Following the season, he was re-signed to a future contract on January 12. The Titans waived him on September 4.

New York Jets

Mulligan was claimed off waivers by the

on September 6, 2009. He was waived on September 23. He was re-signed to the practice squad on September 24. He was promoted to the active roster on December 2.

St. Louis Rams

The

signed Mulligan on March 26, 2012. After one season with the team, Mulligan was released on March 23, 2013.

Green Bay Packers

Mulligan was signed by the

on April 9, 2013. On August 31, 2013, he was released by the Packers during final team cuts.

New England Patriots

On September 3, 2013, the

signed Mulligan, but released him just two days later. The Patriots re-signed him on September 10. On September 29, 2013, he caught the last touchdown pass of Tom Brady's 52 straight games (two shy of the NFL record) with at least one passing touchdown.

Chicago Bears

On April 8, 2014, Mulligan was signed by the

to a one-year deal. On September 16, 2014, his contract was terminated by the Chicago Bears.

Arizona Cardinals

Mulligan signed with the

on November 18, 2014. He was released on December 5, 2014.

Tennessee Titans (second stint)

On December 16, 2014 Mulligan signed with the

Buffalo Bills

On June 18, 2015, Mulligan signed with the Buffalo Bills. On December 8, 2015, Mulligan was released by the Bills after

Nick O'Leary Nicklaus O'Leary (born August 31, 1992) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State. Early life O'Leary is one of five childre ...

was promoted from the practice squad.

Detroit Lions

On April 4, 2016, Mulligan signed a one-year contract with the

. On August 29, 2016, Mulligan was released by the Lions. He was re-signed by the Lions on November 1, 2016.

References

External links

Detroit Lions bio

Tennessee Titans bio

Chicago Bears bio

New England Patriots bio

Green Bay Packers bio

New York Jets bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulligan, Matthew 1985 births Living people Players of American football from Maine Sportspeople from Bangor, Maine American football tight ends Maine Black Bears football players Miami Dolphins players Tennessee Titans players New York Jets players St. Louis Rams players Green Bay Packers players New England Patriots players Chicago Bears players Arizona Cardinals players Buffalo Bills players Detroit Lions players People from Penobscot County, Maine