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Mark Fields (born November 9, 1972) is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League. He would have a ten-year career in the with the New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams, and the Carolina Panthers before missing the 2005 NFL season due to being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma for the second time in three seasons and subsequently retiring.

Mark Fields

No. 55, 58
Position:	Linebacker
Personal information
Born:	(1972-11-09) November 9, 1972 (age 49) Los Angeles, California
Height:	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:	244 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:	Los Angeles (CA) Washington
College:	Washington State
NFL Draft:	1995 / Round: 1 / Pick: 13
Career history
New Orleans Saints (1995–2000) St. Louis Rams (2001) Carolina Panthers (2002–2004)
Career highlights and awards
2× Pro Bowl (2000, 2004) PFWA All-Rookie Team (1995) George Halas Award (2005) Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year (1994)
Career NFL statistics
Tackles: 769 Sacks: 34.5 Interceptions: 5
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Fields attended Washington Preparatory High School, Southwest College, and Compton College. He transferred to Washington State University in Pullman, and played middle linebacker under head coach Mike Price. As a senior in 1994, he was All-Pac-10,[1] and its Defensive Player of the Year.[2][3][4]

NFL

Fields was the thirteenth overall selection of the 1995 NFL Draft, taken by the New Orleans Saints.[5][6] He played six years in New Orleans, leading or coming close to the team lead in tackles. He later played one year with the St. Louis Rams and Super Bowl XXXVI, then signed with the Carolina Panthers in 2002.

However, before the start of the 2003 season, he learned he had Hodgkin's disease, and he was forced to sit the season out. Both he and linebackers coach Sam Mills were sources of inspiration for the team, who made it to Super Bowl XXXVIII, but lost to the New England Patriots. Fields returned to play in 2004

Fields learned before the start of the 2005 season that his Hodgkin's had returned, and so he turned down a new contract offer from Carolina.[7]

Personal life

On August 10, 2010, Fields was arrested for assaulting the mother of his then-six year old daughter while she was picking her daughter up from daycare. Mark would be charged for aggravated assault, endangerment, disorderly conduct, and interfering with an educational institution as a result.[8]

His son, Mark Fields II played cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers.[9] He was released in Aug 2021.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference

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