Josh Mauro, a former NFL defensive end, died at the age of 35, his family announced on Tuesday.
Greg Mauro, Josh’s father, revealed in a Facebook post that his son died last week on Thursday, April 23.
“With many tears and broken hearts, yet anchored in the unshakable certainty that our precious Josh Mauro is now healed and made new—living 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,” he wrote.
“On Thursday, April 23rd, Josh breathed his last breath on this earth and his first breath in heaven,” he added. “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.”
Mauro’s career in the NFL began in 2014 with the Pittsburgh Stealers as an undrafted free agent out of Stanford before he moved onto the Arizona Cardinals.
“However, Mauro landed with the Arizona Cardinals, and he would spend the next four seasons in the desert helping their defensive line,” noted Fox News.
“Over six seasons with the Cardinals, Mauro collected 83 combined tackles and four sacks across 55 games (29 starts). He worked himself into a starting role in 2016, where he saw seven tackles for loss across 15 games,” it added.
Mauro moved onto the New York Giants and the Oakland Raiders before coming back to the Cardinals for the 2020 to 2021 seasons.