Quintin Perry Mikell (born September 16, 1980) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

who played for eleven seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). After playing

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 ...

for

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

, he was signed by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

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 2003. He played for the Eagles for eight seasons, the

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 arri ...

for two seasons, and the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

for one season. He served one year as the director of player engagement for the Eagles.

Early years

Mikell played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for the Willamette Wolverines in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. He also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and ran

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. His younger brother Darrian played AAU basketball for the Trotters. Quintin's youngest brother, Devyn, is a top ranked track & field recruit in Indiana.

College career

Mikell attended the

, and played for the Boise State Broncos football team. He finished his career ranked second on the school's all-time tackles list (401).

Professional career

Philadelphia Eagles

After being

undrafted 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 the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936 NF ...

, Mikell signed with the

. He has posted a team-leading 108

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles since joining the Eagles, including a career-high 35 in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. As such, Mikell has been voted by his teammates as the Eagles

MVP in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and

. On

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

, Mikell replaced the injured

Sean Considine Seán Considine (born October 28, 1981) is a former American football safety in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Iowa. Considine ...

as the starting strong safety in 2007 and remained in that role through 2010. On November 28, 2004, Mikell notched his first career interception, outjumping

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 ...

Jeremy Shockey in the end zone for a pass thrown by

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the youngest son o ...

late in the first half vs. the

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

. The play helped the Eagles preserve a 7-6 lead at halftime, and Philadelphia went on to win, 27-6, to clinch their fourth consecutive

NFC East The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys ...

title. Mikell was a backup

behind

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

ers Michael Lewis and

Brian Dawkins Brian Patrick Dawkins Sr. (born October 13, 1973) is an American former football safety who played 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Clemson and was drafted b ...

for the 2004 NFC Championship team and played in

Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League ( ...

. His most significant contribution on special teams came on October 23, 2005, when, with the Eagles trailing the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

, 17-13, late in the fourth quarter, he blocked a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

attempt by

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

Nate Kaeding (who to that point had not missed a field goal all season), which teammate Matt Ware returned 65 yards for a touchdown to secure a 20-17 win. It was the first time in Eagles history that a blocked field goal was returned for a touchdown. In a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Day win at

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Mikell propelled the Eagles with a key tackle for loss of

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Marion Barber on fourth down to finish off a goal-line stand. On February 27, 2007, Mikell inked a four-year contract with the Eagles, which prevented him from testing the

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 ...

market. On January 9, 2009, Mikell was voted as a member of the 2008 NFL All-Pro Second-Team Defense. Mikell was named to the

2010 Pro Bowl The 2010 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site ...

after Adrian Wilson got hurt and

Roman Harper Roman Harper (born December 11, 1982) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Alabama, and was drafted by the Saints in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. In 2009, Harper earned his first Pro Bowl invitation (fir ...

could not play due to the

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

making it to Super Bowl XLIV.

St. Louis Rams

Mikell was signed by the

on July 29, 2011. The team released him on March 11, 2013.

Carolina Panthers

Mikell was signed by the

on September 2, 2013 to a one-year contract. Safety

Haruki Nakamura Haruki Robert Nakamura (born April 18, 1986) is a former American football safety who was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Cincinnati. Early life Nakamur ...

was placed on injured reserve to open up spot on the 53-man roster. Mikell was expected to compete for the starting job at strong safety.http://blogs.charlotte.com/panthers/2013/09/quintin-mikell-signs-panthers-nfl.html

Career statistics

Personal life

Mikell returned to his native

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

for the first time on October 13, 2006, the day before the

would play the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. He was heartbroken by the vast devastation and conditions of disaster still remaining at his grandmother's home and in her neighborhood one year after the hurricane. Philadelphia NBC 10 profiled his visit on an October 14, 2006, telecast.

References

External links

*
Philadelphia Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mikell, Quintin 1980 births Living people American football safeties Boise State Broncos football players Carolina Panthers players National Conference Pro Bowl players Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from New Orleans Sportspeople from Eugene, Oregon St. Louis Rams players