Ryan Mallett spent seven years as a quarterback in the NFL. During that time, he played for the New England Patriots, the Houston Texans, and the Baltimore Ravens. He retired from the NFL in 2017 after playing a total of 21 games. Prior to his professional football career, Mallet played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

In 2020, Mallett was offered a job as an assistant coach at Mountain Home High School in Arkansas. In 2022, he became the head coach at White Hall.

Tragically, Mallett’s career is now over. Mallett died on Tuesday June 27, 2023, in Destin, Florida, in what the Destin Fire Control District is calling a “tragic accident.” The cause of death was drowning. Mallett was 35 years old.

According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, on Tuesday, a group of men was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico off the shore of Destin. Suddenly, it appeared that the group of men was struggling to swim back to shore. One man was seen going underwater.

A rescue crew arrived and brought the man to shore, but he was not breathing. First responders were unable to save his life.

According to a statement released by the Destin Fire Control District, at 2:12pm on Tuesday “Destin Beach Safety got a call for a swimmer in distress. A beach attendant called 911, reporting six individuals struggling to make it back to shore. Destin Beach Safety quickly arrived on scene, where they were informed that one of the swimmers had submerged and failed to resurface.”

Three lifeguards took action. Two of them assisted the five swimmers who were still struggling to make it back to shore. The other lifeguard helped Mallett, the swimmer who had gone under the water.

The statement also explains that on Tuesday, the “flag condition was yellow” which means “medium hazard, moderate surf and/or currents. There were no rip currents present in the area.”