RIP Ryan Mallett at 35: there were no rip currents

There were no rip currents in the location where Ryan Mallett former NFL quarterback drowned on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a statement released by Destin Beach Safety, which is in charge of lifeguarding in the region, there were no rip currents in the location where former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett drowned on Tuesday afternoon.

And the water wasn’t very dangerous or harmful when Mallett was rescued.

Lastest details released about the incident

The new information sheds even more light on the tragedy and sorrow of Mallett’s death, which triggered widespread sadness and condolences from the greater football world late Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. The former Razorback quarterback was ready to begin his second season coaching high school football in Arkansas this autumn. He played in the NFL for six seasons with three different clubs. Age-wise, he was 35.
One of the greats is gone. Former New England Patriots quarterback and teammate of Mallett’s, Tom Brady, thanked him on Instagram for his contributions. The Malletts and their loved ones are in my prayers.

A beach worker contacted 911 at 2:12 p.m. on Tuesday to report that six people were having trouble returning to the shore, according to a statement released by Destin Beach Safety. One of the people, later identified as Mallett, had gone down and not surfaced when the rescue team arrived. After the party was rescued by a total of three lifeguards, Mallett was carried to beach unconscious and not breathing.
Although further investigation is needed, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office believes Mallett was trying to swim to a second sandbar located around 150 feet offshore. As of Wednesday afternoon, they had not issued an official incident report.

“Despite widespread media misinformation, yellow beach safety flags were flying at the time, and there were no indications of any ‘riptides,'” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post with brief body cam footage.
The flags it cited are part of a larger safety system in place to inform tourists of the relative danger of the water on any particular day.

There was possible, but unlikely, life-threatening conditions on Tuesday, as indicated by the yellow flag indicating moderate surf and/or currents. Twelve of the previous thirteen days, Destin has issued either a red or double red flag warning. It is against the law to enter the Gulf of Mexico when a double red flag warning is in effect.

Data on swimming incidents in the area

Ryan Mallett was found dead on a beach not far from Gulf Shore Drive in Destin, Florida, a touristy area with lots of hotels, condos, and restaurants along the Gulf of Mexico.

According to information received by USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday, despite having been the scene of hundreds of swimming mishaps in previous years, that section of beach has not been an unusually difficult place.

In the three miles of beach between the Destin East Jetty and the western side of Henderson Beach State Park, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office has responded to at least 58 requests for assistance involving swimmers in trouble since May 2020. Drowning was the cause of death in six of the calls, including the one about Mallett.

The National Weather Service reports that since 2010, more than a thousand people have lost their lives in surf zones; 60 of those deaths have occurred this year alone as of Sunday. Not counting Mallett, 58 people have drowned in the Gulf of Mexico, and in all but two of those cases, rip currents played a role.