Retired TE Mitchell works out with Jaguars

[The_Philster]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (April 13, 2003 9:42 a.m. EDT) - Retired tight end Johnny Mitchell worked out for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday in a bid to play in the NFL for the first time since 1996.

Mitchell, a first-round draft pick by the New York Jets in 1992, has 158 career receptions for 2,086 yards and 16 touchdowns since leaving Nebraska as a sophomore.

After four seasons in New York, Mitchell signed a three-year, $1.4 million contract with the Miami Dolphins in 1996. After 12 days in training camp, Mitchell asked to be excused from the team to handle personal matters. When the club denied his request, Mitchell gave back his $500,000 signing bonus and retired....more (http://www.sportserver.com/football/nfl/story/852431p-5974545c.html)

[The_Philster]

In a move that signals the organization's displeasure with starting tight end Kyle Brady, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed five-year veteran Johnny Mitchell, who hasn't played in a regular-season game since 1996.

The addition of Mitchell, 32, came after he auditioned for Jags officials at a weekend mini-camp. He signed a one-year contract for the minimum base salary of $530,000.

Even though he has been out of the league for several years, and failed in previous comeback attempts, Mitchell becomes the most experienced tight end on the roster, after Brady, an eight-year veteran.

Jacksonville officials have been attempting to get Brady to agree to rework his contract, which calls for a 2003 base salary of $2.95 million, and a cap charge of $5.176 million. The veteran has declined to restructure his deal and skipped the weekend mini-camp....more (http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/pasquarelli_len/1538646.html)

[The_Philster]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Johnnie Mitchell left his latest training camp in a more traditional way than in the past: He simply got cut.

Mitchell, who has walked out of two training camps during his on-again, off-again decade in pro football, was released Monday by the Jacksonville Jaguars, putting at least a temporary halt to his quest to play in a regular-season game for the first time since 1996.

"We didn't feel like he was going to make this football team," head coach Jack Del Rio said. "We wanted to be fair and give him a chance to catch on with somebody else."...
more (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/news/2003/08/04/mitchell_released_ap/)