Michael Dewayne Sutton (born April 25, 1975) 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 ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. Sutton 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 ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. Professionally, Sutton began his career with the

Tennessee Oilers Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to the ...

of the NFL in 1998 and later played in

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

and

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. He was a two-time All-NFL Europe honoree.

Early life and college career

Born in

Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-largest city in North Carolina. Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous commun ...

, Sutton graduated from

Salmen High School Salmen High School is a public high school in Slidell, Louisiana, United States, under the St. Tammany Parish School Board. The school serves southern Slidell and Eden Isle.Slidell, Louisiana Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 census. It is part of the New Orleans− Metairie−Kenner metropolitan statistical area. Hist ...

. Sutton then attended

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

, where he played at

for

LSU Tigers football The LSU Tigers football program, also known as the Fighting Tigers, represents Louisiana State University in college football. The Tigers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) an ...

from 1994 to 1997 with a total of 80 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and three fumble recoveries.

Pro football career

After the

1998 NFL Draft The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...

, Sutton signed as a free agent with the

on April 20, 1998. He spent much of the season on the practice squad before being promoted to the active roster on December 12 to replace an injured Anthony Cook. Sutton made his first and only NFL game appearance in the season finale on December 26, making one tackle. In the spring of 1999, the Oilers became 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 ...

and allocated Sutton to the

Rhein Fire Rhein may refer to: Places * Rhine, a major river in Europe (german: Rhein, link=no) * Rhein, a village in the municipality of Morsbach in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Rhein (Ostpreussen), a former name of the town Ryn in Poland Ships * SM ...

. Sutton had 19 tackles, 2.5 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, and a pass defended in 1999 with the Fire. On September 5, 1999, the Titans placed Sutton on injured reserve. In 2000, Sutton signed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

and played in 10 games for the

of NFL Europe during the spring. He had 39 tackles, nine sacks, a forced fumble, and three passes defended for the Fire and was on the 2000 All-NFL Europe team. Sutton was released from the Jaguars on August 24, 2000 prior to the regular season. Sutton started two games for the

Memphis Maniax The Memphis Maniax were an American football team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The team was part of the XFL begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major television network in the United States. Home games were playe ...

of the newly created

in 2001, starting two games with three tackles. Later in 2001, Sutton played for the

Los Angeles Avengers The Los Angeles Avengers were an Arena Football League team based in Los Angeles, California, from 2000 through 2008. They folded on April 19, 2009. History The Los Angeles Avengers played their home games at the Staples Center, which is also th ...

of the

. In 2002, Sutton returned to NFL Europe and started 10 games for the

Amsterdam Admirals The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, playing in the NFL Europe. History The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to ...

. With 29 tackles, six sacks, two forced fumbles, seven passes defended, and an interception returned for a touchdown, Sutton made his second All-NFL Europe team. Sutton played in three games for the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

in 2003, making five tackles and two passes defended in three games. From 2004 to 2008, Sutton played in the Arena Football League.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Mike 1975 births Living people People from Jacksonville, North Carolina American football defensive ends LSU Tigers football players Tennessee Oilers players Rhein Fire players Tennessee Titans players Berlin Thunder players Memphis Maniax players Los Angeles Avengers players Amsterdam Admirals players Berlin Thunder coaches Indiana Firebirds players Tampa Bay Storm players Columbus Destroyers players Georgia Force players Dallas Desperados players