an ankle injury towards the end of the season, Mitchell replaced him as the starter and had a two-touchdown performance in the Divisional Playoff Game against the Minnesota Vikings. After the game, Mitchell said, "I just want to thank my hands for being so great." In the week prior to Super Bowl XXXIX against the New England Patriots, he created controversy by offending members of the Patriots' secondary, including Rodney Harrison. He caught one pass for 11 yards in the Super Bowl and was released by the Eagles on May 6, 2005. The Kansas City Chiefs signed him shortly after, but he declined to have arthroscopic surgery on his injured knee and he was released before the start of the season. After his NFL career ended, Mitchell bought a barbecue restaurant in Lakeland in 2008, but the venue was closed in September 2009. Mitchell served time in prison for tax fraud from 2013 to 2016. Early years Mitchell grew up as the son of a pastor in Lakeland, Florida. He attended Kathleen High School in Lakeland, where he lettered in cross country, baseball, football, and basketball. In baseball, Mitchell was used as a pinch hitter and played outfielder. He played in the Polk County East–West Senior All-Star Game in 1997 for the West squad. He had a .388 batting average, three home runs, and eleven runs batted in (RBI). Mitchell was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 47th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft after graduating from Kathleen. He had brief contract negotiations with the Devil Rays, but decided to attend college instead of signing with a professional team. He was a guard in basketball, and scored 11 points in the 1997 Class 4A boys' high school basketball state championship for Kathleen as the Red Devils won their first ever title. Mitchell, who had three steals in the game, was called for a technical foul after he went out-of-bounds and punched a cooler. In football, he contributed as a wide receiver, kick returner, punt returner, holder for kicker Paul Edinger, and defensive back. Mitchell earned The Ledger second-team all-Lakeland area honors as a utility player following the 1995 season. Mitchell visited the University of Florida, Florida State University, the University of Miami, and Michigan State University before he committed to the University of California, Los Angeles to play football for the Bruins. He chose to