Tom Brady offers heartfelt response after death of Ryan Mallett

Brady pays tribute to Mallett, his former teammate on the Patriots, after the quarterback died in a drowning in Florida

Tom Brady sent his prayers and well wishes to the family of Ryan Mallett, the former Arkansas and New England Patriots quarterback who died in a drowning accident.

Mallett died while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico off Destin, Fla. this week, resulting in an outpouring of sorrow and tributes from not only the Arkansas Razorbacks community, but those in the NFL, where Mallett played for the Patriots and Texans.

"We lost a great man," said Brady, who was teammates with Mallett on the Patriots, in a story posted to Instagram. "Thank you for everything Ryan. Praying for the Mallett family and all their loved ones tonight."

Tom Brady and Ryan Mallett were teammates for the New England Patriots / Tom Brady on IG

Mallett, a highly-scouted high school recruit, began his college football career at Michigan, also Brady's alma mater, where he started three games before electing to transfer to the Arkansas Razorbacks program.

That was a historic decision for the quarterback and the school, as Mallett went on to break almost every passing record that Arkansas ever had over his two seasons there.

Mallett passed for 7,493 yards and 62 touchdowns with the Razorbacks before landing with the New England Patriots as a third round draft pick in 2011.

He finished with nine touchdown passes and 1,835 yards over 21 appearances in the NFL for the Patriots, Texans, and Ravens.

Mallett was 35 years old.

---

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks