Former Arizona Cardinals DE Josh Mauro dead at 35

The Arizona Cardinals have suffered the loss of a former player. Former defensive lineman Josh Mauro has died at the age of 35 last week on April 23, his family announced on Facebook.

His father posted this on Facebook:

“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. 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."

The cause of death was not immediately available.

Mauro has multiple stints with the Cardinals, his first from 2013-2017 and then again in 2020 and for a bit in 2021. In eight NFL seasons, he played in 80 games with 130 career tackles and five career sacks.

In his stints with the Cardinals, he appeared in 55 games, starting 29, and had 83 tackles, four sacks, 13 tackles for loss, 12 quarterback hits, four tipped passes, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

The Cardinals released a statement after learning the news.

AZCardinals.com's Darren Urben recalled something that Mauro said that stuck with him.

"It's bigger than you making plays, it's bigger than getting your name called, it's bigger than the newspaper having your numbers," Mauro said.

It is a sad time for those who knew and loved Mauro. Our hearts go out to all those impacted by his death.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on ,  or .