Former NFL Player Dies At 35

This is truly tragic.

A former NFL player has died at the age of 35.

Josh Mauro, a former defensive end for the Arizona Cardinals and Oakland Raiders, died last week, his family announced in a social media post on Tuesday.

Fox News provided further details on the sudden death of Mauro:

Former NFL defensive end Josh Mauro has died, his family announced Tuesday. He was 35 years old.

Greg Mauro, Josh’s father, announced his son’s death in a Facebook post, saying he passed on April 23.

“With many tears and broken hearts, yet anchored in the unshakable certainty that our precious Josh Mauro is now healed and made news – live in the presence of the Lord – we humbly covet your prayers as our family walks through the devastating loss of our amazing son, brother, uncle, grandson and friend,” Greg wrote in the post.

“On Thursday, April 23rd, Josh breathed his last breath on this Earth and his first breath in heaven. The Lord has been our strength in this unimaginable moment. Your prayers for continued strength and comfort mean more to us than words could ever express.”

No cause of death was shared.

Tributes came pouring in on X:

Josh was a good dude and a guy who was dependable for the Cardinals in multiple seasons. https://t.co/Mg1TEps45J

— Darren Urban (@Cardschatter) April 28, 2026

Prayers go out to Josh Mauro and his family. Had the opportunity to be around Josh for several years with BA. Always in shape, always was ready to go wherever he got that call. One of the things I respected most about him. You could depend on him

— Adrian Wilson (@adrian_wilson24) April 28, 2026

Former NFL DE Josh Mauro has sadly passed away at the young age of 35 years old 🙏🕊️ pic.twitter.com/I5SnRDidPU

— My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) April 28, 2026

TMZ provided details of Mauro’s NFL career:

Mauro, a defensive lineman, went undrafted in 2014 after starring at Stanford … where he was nominated for several national awards as a senior. He was named to the All-Pac 12 honorable mention team, too.

Josh signed with the Steelers, but was cut at the end of training camp … though he wasn’t out of a job for long. Mauro was signed to the Cardinals, and spent four seasons in Arizona.

In 2018, he signed with the N.Y. Giants — and played 12 games for Big Blue, before stints with the Oakland Raiders (2019) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2020) before returning to the Cardinals, where he appeared in 8 games — his last stint in the NFL.

Mauro finished his career with 130 tackles and 5 sacks.

Here’s a promo video Mauro made with the Arizona Cardinals when he was part of the team:

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