Playing in the New England Patriots’ offense is notoriously difficult, so it naturally was encouraging to see fourth-round rookie Malcolm Mitchell turn into a key contributor in 2016: the Georgia product appeared in 16 of the Patriots’ 19 games during the team’s Super Bowl run and finished his first NFL campaign with a combined 39 catches for 476 yards and four touchdowns. His rookie season was one of the best in New England’s recent memory.
Mitchell’s 16th game — Super Bowl 51 during which he caught six passes for 70 yards — unfortunately turned out to be his last one in the league: after missing all of 2017 due to a nagging knee injury and later getting released by the Patriots in August 2018, the 26-year-old announced his retirement at an event at his alma mater today.