Mike Pearson (gridiron football)

For the late Prime Minister of Canada, "Mike" Pearson, see Lester B. Pearson.

Michael Wayne (Mike) Pearson (born August 22, 1980 in Tampa, Florida) is an gridiron football player, presently with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League[1] . He signed with the team on June 12, 2007, and made the starting lineup as left tackle, and previously played in the National Football League.

He was drafted 40th (second round) in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he played from 2002-2005. His "break" came in his rookie season, when offensive tackle Maurice Williams was injured. Pearson then started at left tackle for 31 consectutive games, when he was injured on October 3, 2004 against the Indianapolis Colts; after knee surgery [2] he was placed on injured reserve, and returned in 2005. He started two games in 2005, and was released. In 2006, he was signed by the Miami Dolphins, released during training camp, and signed by the Houston Texans in November. He was released in December.

He was a three-year letterman at the University of Florida, where he received school’s offensive leadership award in 2001 and was two-time Southeastern Conference All-Academic selection. Pearson played for the Gators in 33 games with 31 starts, including two bowl games: the 2001 Orange Bowl and the 2000 Sugar Bowl [3]. He played high school football at Armwood High School in Seffner, Florida.

In 2007, he started the season as the starting left tackle, but after two games, was moved to the injured reserved list.

External links

• Toronto Argonauts profile
• ESPN profile