Earl Mitchell (born September 25, 1987) 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 wi ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

. He was drafted by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...

in the third round of the

2010 NFL Draft The 2010 NFL Draft was the 75th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The 2010 draft took place over three days, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, with the fir ...

. 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

College career

Mitchell attended the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first ...

from 2006 to 2009.

Professional career

Houston Texans

Mitchell was drafted by the

in the third round (81st overall) of the

Miami Dolphins

On March 11, 2014, he 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 p ...

to a four-year, $16 million contract including $9 million guaranteed. On September 13, 2016, Mitchell was placed on injured reserve. He was activated off injured reserve to the active roster on November 10, 2016, prior to Week 10. On February 17, 2017, Mitchell was released by the Dolphins.

San Francisco 49ers

On February 24, 2017, Mitchell signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

. In his first season in San Francisco, Mitchell started all 16 games, recording 33 combined tackles, one sack, and a career-high four passes defensed. On January 23, 2019, the 49ers declined the two-year option on Mitchell's contract, making him a free agent in 2019.

Seattle Seahawks

On July 24, 2019, Mitchell was signed by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 a ...

. He was released on August 31, 2019. On November 7, 2019, Mitchell announced his retirement from the NFL.

San Francisco 49ers (second stint)

On January 1, 2020, Mitchell came out of retirement and signed with the San Francisco 49ers. Mitchell reached

Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...

with 49ers, but lost 31–20 to the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

. Mitchell recorded 1 tackle and 0.5 sacks in the Super Bowl.

NFL statistics

Personal life

Mitchell was born and raised in Houston, moving around with his mom, who separated from his dad. His grandma sometimes provided a home for him in the Trinity Garden neighborhood, but she died when Mitchell was 14 and Mitchell's dad died during his senior year in college.

References

External links

Miami Dolphins bioArizona Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Earl 1987 births Living people Players of American football from Houston American football defensive tackles Arizona Wildcats football players Houston Texans players Miami Dolphins players North Shore Senior High School (Texas) alumni San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players