Jeff Jonathan Mills (born October 8, 1968) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for four seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

and

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

. He was selected by the Chargers in the third round of the 1990 NFL draft after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

. Mills was also a member of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Early life and college

Jeff Jonathan Mills was born on October 8, 1968, in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

. He attended Montclair High School in Montclair. Mills was a member of the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding t ...

of the

from 1986 to 1989 and a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

from 1987 to 1989. He earned first-team All- Big Eight honors his senior year in 1989.

Professional career

Mills was selected by the San Diego Chargers in the third round, with the 57th overall pick, of the 1990 NFL draft. He officially signed with the team on June 28, 1990. He played in five games for the Chargers during the 1990 season before being placed on injured reserve on October 27 after pulling his hamstring. On November 19, the Chargers suspended Mills for a week for "conduct detrimental to the team". He was waived on December 20, 1990. Mills was claimed off waivers by the

on December 21, 1990. He played in two games for the Broncos during the 1990 season. The next year, he was placed on injured reserve on October 19, 1991, and later activated on November 16, 1991. Overall, Mills appeared in 12 games, starting three, in 1991 and recorded three sacks. He also played in one playoff game that year. He appeared in 14 games in 1992, totaling two sacks and two fumble recoveries. Mills played in 13 games during the 1993 seaaon and became a free agent afterwards. Mills signed with the

on October 5, 1994, but did not appear in any games before being released on November 11, 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Jeff 1968 births Living people American football linebackers Nebraska Cornhuskers football players San Diego Chargers players Denver Broncos players Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni Players of American football from Montclair, New Jersey 20th-century African-American sportsmen New York Giants players 20th-century American sportsmen