Malcolm Mitchell might have found his next calling.
The former New England Patriots wide receiver released a movie Monday via Instagram, and it’s bound to tug at the heartstrings of the team’s fans. The beautiful, brutally honest, seven-plus-minute film, titled “TREASURE BOX, part one,” centers around his retirement from the NFL, which he announced in March.
“A short film directed by MALCOLM MITCHELL, expressing his unfavorable break up with football and full transition into his creative mind,” he writes in the caption. “With Parker Lee’s mastery of the Super 8 camera the two create TREASURE BOX, their first short film.”
Viewers can watch the film here.
Mitchell candidly airs his feelings on moving on from football at the age of 26 and trying to find a new path in life.
“I feel enraged, useless, scared, you know,” he says at one point. “I don’t have any memories of myself without football. That’s how I was going to take care of my family.
“With football it was easy to see into the future. Now without it, my days get a little blurry from time to time.”
The Patriots drafted Mitchell in the fourth round out of Georgia in 2016. He showed great promise as a rookie and even caught six passes for 70 yards in the team’s win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. But the litany of injuries he describes in the film ultimately curtailed his career.
Although Mitchell leaves no doubt how much he misses football, the quality of “TREASURE BOX, part one,” shows he might have a bright future as a filmmaker.
