Former New York Giants offensive lineman Mitch Petrus tragically lost his life this week at age 32 after suffering a heat-related illness, officials said.
Via Arkansas Online:
“He said records indicate Petrus reported feeling ill after working all day outside and in his family’s shop in Lonoke County. The cause of death was listed as heat stroke, Hobbs said.
A heat advisory was in effect for a large swath of Arkansas on Thursday including Lonoke County, where temperatures reached the low-to-mid 90s and the heat index made it feel hotter than 100 degrees, the National Weather Service said. A heat advisory is in effect again on Friday for roughly the northern half of Arkansas.”
Petrus was voted All-SEC as an offensive guard in 2007 and in 2009. He would go on to be drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He started three games in 2011 and played in the Giants’ victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 46.
He would be released in 2012, spending a short time on practice squads for the Patriots and Tennessee Titans, but never played again in a game.
He officially retired from the NFL in 2013.
