Former Boston Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks posted a heartfelt message to social media on Tuesday in honor of his “best friend,” former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett, who tragically died in an apparent drowning in Florida.
“I lost my best friend today,” Middlebrooks wrote in a tweet which included a series of pictures of the two over the years, including images of Mallett from his time with the New England Patriots.
Will Middlebrooks, #16 of the Boston Red Sox, swings at a pitch thrown by Matt Shoemaker #52 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the seventh inning at Fenway Park on Aug. 21, 2014 in Boston. (Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
“Someone who has stuck by my side since we were just kids. The most competitive, hard headed, fun loving person I ever met. Nothing prepares you for this. I was lucky to have him for as long as I did. Rest in Love One-Five. We love you.”
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According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, first responders were called to a beach in Destin, Florida, at around 2:12 p.m. after a man, later identified as Mallett, was pulled out from the water and was “not breathing.”
“A group of people in the water near the second sandbar had reportedly been struggling to make their way back to shore,” law enforcement said in a news release.
New England Patriots quarterback Ryan Mallett, #15, makes a pass in the first quarter against the Washington Redskins during a preseason NFL game at FedExField on Aug. 7, 2014 in Landover, Maryland. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Despite the efforts of the first responders, Mallett was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
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Middlebrooks also shared a lengthy message from his mother, Julie Procell Middlebrooks, on Wednesday where she remembered Mallett as a “son.”
“I have cried so many tears, yet I know my pain is nothing like your family’s,” she wrote in the post. “I’m still crying ugly tears right now. You called me mom, and I called you son.”
“Every single birthday I heard from you. Every single one. ‘I love you, mom.’ It’s going to hurt so bad not to hear that from here out. But I know you loved us all. I love you, Ryan, and I have for a very long time. Through the good times and the bad, we always considered you partly ours, just like your family has always considered Will part of theirs (Will much preferred your mama’s breakfast over mine).”
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Former Boston Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks speaks during the 2023 Red Sox Winter Weekend on Jan. 21, 2023 at MGM Springfield and MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
Tributes for Mallett poured in on social media Tuesday after news of his death broke.
“We lost a great man,” Tom Brady said of his former teammate. “Thank you for everything Ryan. … Praying for the Mallett family and all their loved ones tonight.”
Mallett was a standout quarterback at Arkansas before the Patriots selected him in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He was with the Patriots until the 2014 season, when he joined the Houston Texans. He was later traded to the Baltimore Ravens before he came a free agent in March 2018.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.
