The football community is in mourning.
Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett died on June 27 in an apparent drowning off a Florida beach, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. He was 35.
First responders were called to a beach in Destin around 2:12 p.m. local time over reports that a group of people were struggling to make their way back to shore from a nearby sandbar, per a news release from the agency.
Authorities said an individual—later identified as Mallett—went under the water and was not breathing when lifeguards pulled him out. Lifesaving measures were performed before Mallett was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An official cause of death has not been released.
Mallett first made his way onto the national football scene in 2007, when he played for University of Michigan. He transferred to University of Arkansas in the following year, though NCAA rules prevented him from playing for his new school until 2009. He served as the Arizona Razorbacks’ quarterback for two seasons before being drafted into the NFL in 2011.
