Matt Mulligan had no plans to watch Thursday night’s National Football League season opener between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs on television.
The eight-year NFL veteran would prefer to be playing.
“I don’t fancy football like that on a regular basis,” said the 32-year-old Mulligan from his Lincoln home this week. “I watch it more analytically than I would anything else so it just feels like a job and honestly I’ve got a lot of other things I could be doing.
“I know a lot of Americans (were) watching. Football’s an awesome game and it’s supported me in a lot of things so I’m really thankful, but I try not to get too wrapped up in it because it could be a depressive thing, too, if you allow yourself to think, ‘I should be here’ or ‘I should be doing that.’”
While Mulligan, who has been with 10 NFL organizations since 2008 and played in eight games for the Detroit Lions last fall, is unsigned as the new season enters its first weekend, football remains his profession as he continues workouts in case another opportunity arises.
“I’ll stay in shape for this year, for sure, and wait and see if anybody will eventually pull the trigger,” said Mulligan. “We’ve spoken to multiple teams and they’re all interested. They all want to know if I’m in shape, but right now they’re giving what they have a try.
“They said in the next few weeks or so they’d have more of an idea where they want to go with me.”
The waiting game is nothing new for Mulligan, the West Enfield native and graduate of Penobscot Valley High School in Howland where he starred in basketball and was co-MVP of the soccer team as a senior — the small school does not sponsor football.
His NFL resume includes stops with Tennessee (twice), the New York Jets, St. Louis, Green Bay, New England, Chicago, Arizona, Buffalo and Detroit since he initially signed with Miami as an undrafted free agent in 2008. That followed a college football career that began while a sophomore at Husson University in Bangor and continued for two years at the University of Maine.
Last year, Mulligan signed a one-year contract with Detroit in April but was released in late August just before the season began after suffering a foot injury.
Mulligan returned to Maine, resumed workouts and was re-signed by Detroit on Nov. 1, playing in the team’s final eight games.
“Every year for me has been different, I just have to wait and see how it pans out this year,” said Mulligan, known more for his blocking ability but with 18 pass receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns in 89 career games (31 starts).
“The only thing I can control is myself so I have to make sure I stay in shape. The worst thing you can do is be not ready if they call.”
Mulligan lifts four or five days a week at his home gym — occasionally with good friend and ex-Jets’ teammate Mike DeVito, the former UMaine standout and nine-year NFL defensive tackle who retired and returned to Maine after the 2015 season.
He also runs regularly and works out on a stationary bike.
“I’m still pretty heavy handed with (training) because that’s what’s kept me in it,” said Mulligan. “I’ve been healthy all these years and honestly right now I’m in the best shape of my life so if someone calls me they’ll get the best Matt Mulligan I’ve ever been.”
One thing Mulligan can’t control is the NFL’s growing reliance on younger players, particularly for roster depth.
Mulligan said that during his three years with the Jets (2009-11) the roster was filled with veterans, but the 2011 collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and its players’ association implemented a salary cap for teams, veteran minimum salaries and a rookie salary system that made it more economical for teams to use younger players than established pros because the veterans’ minimum may be more than double what many rookies are paid.
“It’s just the way the NFL is going,” he said. “The league is far younger and it’s great for the rookies, don’t get me wrong. It’s great for guys with four years or less, but for anybody above that it’s tougher sledding. Teams are going to give the rookies a try for the first few weeks and see if they can do it.”
Mulligan is optimistic about returning to the NFL this year as teams sort out their needs and inevitable injuries occur, but for now he’ll continue his training and spend time with wife Stephanie and their three young children, Clara, Emmett and Lena.
“I’ve had a great opportunity to be home with my family and do a lot of things I haven’t had the ability to do the last decade basically because I’ve always been gone,” he said.
Mulligan also has dabbled in the ministry and plans to pursue a master’s degree in theology once his NFL career ends.
“I’ve always said, and this has been my prayer to the Lord all these years, ‘God, when you don’t want me to play anymore just shut the door, don’t let there be any more openings and then I’ll go on to what you have for me next,’” he said. “That’s how I feel.
“Right now I’m going to put everything into being a professional football player, and once that calling is done I’ll move on to the next one.”
