Mike Boone (born June 30, 1995) is an American 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

. He played

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 ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

Early life

Boone attended and played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

as a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

at Baker County High School in Glen St. Mary, Florida. As a senior in 2013, he helped lead Baker County to a 7–3 record, catching 57 passes for 1,068 yards and 18

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, including 211 receiving yards in a single game which set a school record. Boone also lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and track. He committed to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

, choosing the Bearcats over FIU.

College career

Boone attended and played

at the University of Cincinnati from 2014 to 2017. On October 24, 2014, against

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

, he had 19 carries for 212 rushing yards and one touchdown. In the 2015 season, he led the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

in rushing yards per attempt.

Statistics

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Boone signed with the

as an undrafted free agent on April 30, 2018. After an impressive preseason where he finished fourth in the league with 195 rushing yards, he made the Vikings 53-man roster and made his NFL debut in Week 3 against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. In the 27–6 loss, he had two carries for 11 rushing yards. He finished his rookie season with 11 carries for 47 yards. In Week 15 of the 2019 season against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

, starting

Dalvin Cook Dalvin James Cook (born August 10, 1995) is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles, earning unanimous All-American honors and finishing his career as the school's all-time leadin ...

left the game with a shoulder injury which increased Boone's playing time as a result. During the game, Boone rushed 13 times for 56 yards and two touchdowns in the 39–10 win. In Week 17 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

, Boone rushed 17 times for 148 yards and a touchdown during the 21–19 loss. Overall, Boone finished the 2019 season with 273 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. In Week 4 of the 2020 season against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Boone forced a fumble on punt returner

DeAndre Carter DeAndre Carter (born April 10, 1993) is an American professional football wide receiver and return specialist for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Sacramento State Hornets before sig ...

which was recovered by the Vikings during the 31–23 win. Boone was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 4.

Denver Broncos

On March 18, 2021, Boone signed a two-year contract with the

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 placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on September 1, 2021, to start the season. He was activated on October 16. After suffering an ankle injury, Boone was placed on injured reserve on October 24, 2022. He was activated on December 3, but placed back on injured reserve 10 days later after suffering an ankle injury in Week 14.

Houston Texans

On March 17, 2023, Boone signed a two-year contract with the

. He entered the 2023 season third on the depth chart. After only 12 touches through 14 games, he was released on December 18, 2023.

Carolina Panthers

On January 2, 2024, Boone was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 8, 2024. On August 27, 2024, Boone was waived by the Panthers and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 10. He was released on October 8 and re-signed to the practice squad two days later. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 28.

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bioCincinnati Bearcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boone, Mike 1995 births Living people American football running backs Cincinnati Bearcats football players Denver Broncos players Minnesota Vikings players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Carolina Panthers players People from Baker County, Florida Players of American football from Florida