Police say cause of Hall of Famer’s death unknown but not suspicious

Cortez Kennedy was a hulking force at defensive tackle, the cornerstone of a franchise that had little to cheer about for most of his playing career.

And yet what Kennedy accomplished as a player with the Seattle Seahawks — which was good enough for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame — was secondary to the affable personality that made him a revered figure long after his career ended.

Police in Orlando, Florida, said the 48year-old Kennedy was found dead Tuesday morning. Orlando Police Department public information officer Wanda Miglio said the circumstances surrounding his death are still unknown but that there is nothing suspicious about it. An investigation is being conducted.

“The full story lies in his loving, fun, positive and giving heart,” said New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, who worked for the Seahawks during Kennedy’s playing career. “In my many years working in the NFL, no one better exemplified what it meant to be a great player on the field, and yet that paled in comparison to what Cortez meant to the people who knew him off the field.”

A star who spent his entire 11-year NFL career in relative obscurity playing in Seattle, Kennedy became the second Seahawks player inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012.