The Denver Post

Seattle great Kennedy dies at 48

Seahawks DT is Hall of Famer

- By Tim Booth

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 earned him 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, Fla., 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. An investigat­ion is ongoing.

“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. He was an unmovable wall as a dominant defensive tackle, and a quiet, gentle soul away from the field never interested in finding himself in the spotlight.

“Cortez Kennedy has been a pillar of the Seahawks franchise since joining the team as a rookie in 1990,” the Seahawks said in a statement. “Tez was the heart and soul of the Seahawks through the 1990s and endeared himself to fans all across the Pacific Northwest as a player who played with a selfless and relentless approach to the game. We are proud to have been represente­d by such a special person.”

Kennedy was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1990 draft from the University of Miami, and Seattle smartly never let him leave. He brought notoriety to an otherwise dreadful period in Seahawks history as an eight-time Pro Bowler and was the NFL defensive player of the year in 1992.

For many seasons of his career, Kennedy was the reason the Seahawks were relevant.

“Really sad to lose a guy like Cortez Kennedy,” Broncos general manager John Elway tweeted. Elway was chased around by Kennedy twice a year for much of the 1990s as competitor­s in the AFC West. “A great personalit­y, a great player and I enjoyed competing against him.”

Even though he last played for the Seahawks in 2000, he remained a significan­t part of the organizati­on. He was a mainstay around the team during training camp and would occasional­ly roll through the locker room during the regular season, grabbing a few minutes with anyone — players, coaches, media — who was up for a chat.

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