Former Indiana Football CB Tiawan Mullen Cut by Los Angeles Chargers

Indiana cornerback Tiawan Mullen has been cut by the Los Angeles Chargers. Mullen signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent after playing for coach Tom Allen and the Indiana Hoosiers from 2019-22.

Daniel Olinger | Aug 30, 2023

Former Indiana Football CB Tiawan Mullen Cut by Los Angeles Chargers /

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Former Indiana football cornerback Tiawan Mullen has been released by the Los Angeles Chargers.

NFL teams had until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to trim their rosters down to just 53 players, and Mullen just barely missed the cut.

Chargers announce they have trimmed their roster to 53. DL Jerrod Clark and CJ Okoye were waived, as were DB’s Mark Webb and Tiawan Mullen.
Appears OL Brenden Jaimes has made the initial roster after all.
— Guilty As Charged Podcast (@GACPodcast17) August 29, 2023

The Chargers ended up keeping 10 defensive backs on their roster between the cornerbacks and safeties. One of those 10 was Mullen's former teammate Raheem Layne, who signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2022, and played in six games this past season. Layne will once again be an active member of the Chargers' roster in the 2023 season.

Mullen burst onto the scene in Bloomington as a true freshman in 2019 with one of the most impressive debut seasons the Big Ten has ever seen. At just 19 years-old, he led the conference with 13 pass breakups, was named an honorable mention to the All-Big Ten teams and was named a first team Freshman All-American by several outlets. He was a key piece to a Hoosiers' team that finished with an 8-5 record, one of the best in program history.

Mullen only improved in 2020. As a true sophomore, the cornerback from Florida finished with three interceptions in eight games as IU went 6-2 and rose to as high as No. 7 in the AP poll rankings. Mullen spearheaded an Indiana defense that finished with 17 interceptions in just eight games. Those 2.1 interceptions per contest was the best per-game mark in the entire country in 2020.

For his efforts, Mullen was named a first team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, and by college football expert Phil Steele.

Unfortunately, as was the case for most of the Indiana football program in 2021, Mullen took a downturn after that dream season. He would start just four games during the 2-10 season due to injury. And in 2022, Mullen would struggle more than had been seen during his younger years in Bloomington, surrendering a plethora of touchdowns as the Indiana pass defense faltered.

Mullen signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent back in April. and from most reports, appeared to have a real chance at making the roster.

#Chargers UDFA DB Tiawan Mullen (42) consistently seeks out contact from the slot. Here, he goes from the right hash to the opposite sideline to chase down the Saints end around. Impressive instincts and range. pic.twitter.com/9MO29Em5Bj
— Steven Haglund (@StevenIHaglund) August 25, 2023

However, whereas his former Hoosier teammate Cam Jones was able to shock the football world and hang on to a surprise spot with the Kansas City Chiefs, the 2023 preseason just wasn't the time for Mullen.

It's hard for any undrafted free agent to hang on to a 53-man roster spot in the NFL on their first attempt. The fact that Mullen was so very close to making the cut should tell us that this likely won't be the last time we hear from him at the professional level.

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