He played college football as a quarterback for the Southwestern Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 1990 NFL draft.

Mitchell was the son of a career U.S. Army soldier and the youngest of seven children, born in Fort Polk, Louisiana.

[4] As a rookie, Mitchell started off his career by returning the opening kickoff of the Redskins first pre-season game for a touchdown.

During his second season with the Redskins in 1991, Mitchell led the NFL in punt return yards (600) and punt return touchdowns (two), helping his team to an appearance in Super Bowl XXVI, where Washington defeated the Buffalo Bills 37–24.

Mitchell continued to play for the Redskins until 1999, leading the NFL in punt return average (14.1) and touchdowns (two) in 1994, and making a Pro Bowl selection in 1995.

Despite only playing with the team for three years, Mitchell left as the franchise's all-time leader in punt return yards, and retains this record to this day.

[citation needed] He was inducted into the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame at FedEx Field during the 2009 season.

On September 14, 2016, Mitchell was nominated for the 2017 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he was not selected as a finalist.

Since retiring, Mitchell has been a TV and radio host and analyst for a variety of outlets.

On TV, he is currently the NFL analyst for WUSA-TV in Washington D.C., where he co-hosts the station's Sunday night wrap-up program entitled "Sports Plus.

Additionally, Mitchell co-hosts "Sports Talk Live" with ex-hog Ric "Doc" Walker and can be seen on Redskins Pre/Post Game Live, both on NBC Sports Washington in Washington, D.C. On radio, Mitchell was the host of The Brian Mitchell Show on WTEM, located in Rockville, Maryland, until the show ended on April 27, 2007 because of program lineup changes.

Since March 2012, Mitchell has co-hosted ESPN 980's Inside The Locker Room with former Redskin Rick Walker and local DC area broadcaster Scott Jackson.

[2] He founded the Brian Mitchell Foundation in 2001 to help disadvantaged children in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and his hometown of Plaquemine, Louisiana.