Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett has died in an apparent drowning off the Gulf of Mexico, authorities said.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and first responders were called to a beach in Destin, Florida — approximately 50 miles east of Pensacola in Florida’s panhandle
At 2:12 p.m. they responded to a report of a group of people in the water near a sandbar who had been struggling to make their way back to shore.
“One of the individuals, an adult male, went under and lifeguards say he was not breathing when pulled out,” said the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office in a statement following the incident.
“Lifesaving measures were immediately undertaken but the man was pronounced deceased at the Destin Emergency Room.”
Police initially did not identify the victim who died in the apparent drowning.
But the police did state they had received confirmation from next of kin in a subsequent update that the man who died was 35-year-old former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett.
Mallett, who played in the NFL for seven seasons, was selected as the 74th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft out of the University of Arkansas by the New England Patriots to serve as a backup to Tom Brady.
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