‘Money Mitch’: Competing against rookie cornerback Greedy a plus
BEREA — Terrance Mitchell is accustomed to people underestimating him.
S ince t he Dallas Cowboys drafted him with the third-to-last pick (254th overall) in 2014, Mitchell has been employed by five NFL teams.
He found a home with the Browns last year, and just when he had been playing lights-out as their starting cornerback opposite Denzel Ward, he suffered a broken right wrist in Week 4 while defending a pass against the Oakland Raiders.
Then in April, the Browns drafted a new sidekick for Ward when General Manager John Dorsey traded up three spots to select Greedy Williams in the second round (46th overall). None ofit has deterred Mitchell. “I’ve just been an underdog my whole life, and I always find a way to persevere and come out on top,” he said Monday. “I believe my blessings, so I just stick with it.”
Williams has shown great promise throughout camp, yet, as of Monday, Mitchell and Ward were the starting cornerbacks. In an
continued from C1 11-on-11 period, Mitchell reminded everyone he’s in the midst of a stellar camp of his own by breaking up a Baker Mayfield pass intended for wide receiver Jaelen Strong over the middle.
Has Mitchell been motivated by his competition against Williams?
“Oh, no doubt,” Mitchell replied. “I’m a born competitor. I’ve been competing my whole life, so it’s nothing new for me, and competition brings the best out of people.”
On Aug. 10, Freddie Kitchens pointed out the Browns had promoted Williams to the No. 1 defense early in camp, and the coach praised Mitchell for not allowing the shake-up to affect him. He simply thrived with the second unit until he ascended the depth chart again.
“[If ] somebody needs competition to get better, then yes, I think that’s what it did [for Mitchell],” Kitchens said Monday. “That’s the way everybody should react.
“He has kept fighting, kept his head down, kept getting better at his technique, kept getting better at his tackling, kept getting better at his coverage and just kept getting better. He has stayed in there in a positive manner. ‘Money Mitch’ is a team guy. I like those guys.”
Mitchell, 27, explained “Money Mitch” has been his alias since his days at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California. The University of Oregon product said he earned the nickname by “just making plays, delivering, and from a movie, ‘Paid in Full.’”
Still, Mitchell has encountered plenty of doubt along his football journey.
“Counted out, looked over, even Pop Warner, high school,” he said. “Looked down upon. [People] didn’t think I could get it done.
“It’s a gift and a curse. [It’s a gift] because I was born for it, and I grew up and was put in a lot of tough, difficult positions, which allowed me to be groomed to be able to persevere through hard times.”
Adversity came in the form of wrist surgery last fall. Mitchell had 19 tackles, one interception, three passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery at the time of the injury on Sept. 30. He returned for the final four games of the season and compiled another 15 tackles and three passes defensed.
Mitchell, listed as 5-foot-11 and 191 pounds, has never played a full 16 games in any of his five NFL seasons. He nearly went wire to wire with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2017, when he started nine of the 15 regular-season games in which he appeared, but was benched for one week. He also appeared in a playoff game that season. He racked up career highs with 48 tackles, four interceptions and 18 passes defensed.
As GM of the Chiefs, Dorsey brought Mitchell to Kansas City. After bouncing from the Cowboys to the Chicago Bears to the Houston Texans, the Chiefs claimed Mitchell off waivers in September 2016.
Although Mitchell vacillated between the Chiefs’ active roster and practice squad for a few months, he later earned his keep throughout 2017. In March 2018, Dorsey acquired Mitchell for the Browns by signing him to a three-year, $10 million contract, which includes $4.5 million guaranteed, as an unrestricted free agent.
“That’s my guy,” Mitchell said of Dorsey. “I have a lot of respect for him for believing in me, and, shoot, I’ve just got to continue to make plays and show him. I owe a lot of my game to Dorsey for giving me the opportunity because a lot of people didn’t.”