Former NFL wide receiver Devon Wylie who played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans, has died suddenly at the age of 35, his family announced on Monday. His cause of death is still unclear. Wylie's family paid a heartbreaking tribute following his death.
"We wanted to make this post so people who knew and loved Devon could learn of his passing because we don't have the capacity to reach out to everyone in this hard time," the family said, according to reports. "There are no words to express the sadness that comes from losing a brother, dear friend and an amazing uncle," the statement from the family added.
Unexpected and Untimely Death
"Devon had so much love and joy to give. Always making people laugh and entertaining us with his football skills, guitar jams, silly jokes and voices, back-flip tricks, fun banter Star Wars obsession chat, Halo nights and not to mention his beautiful smile. We will miss him always," the tribute from his family read.
Before entering the NFL, Wylie gained prominence as a standout high school player at Granite Bay High School in California.
He later continued his football career at Fresno State, playing from 2007 to 2011.
Fresno State expressed that Wylie is "forever a bulldog" following the news of his death.
"Our thoughts are with the Wylie family during this difficult time," the team said on X, formerly Twitter.
In his college career as a wide receiver, Wylie led the Western Athletic Conference in yards per punt return during his senior season. In that season, he achieved 56 receptions in 13 games.
Illustrious Career of a Sportsman
Devon Wylie was drafted into the NFL in the fourth round by the Chiefs. At the time, Chiefs coach Romeo Crennel mentioned that Wylie "showed some pretty good quickness and things as far as catching the ball goes."
"What he was advertised as, it showed. I mean, he has really good quickness and he runs really good routes,' he said of the decision to enter Wylie into the pro-leagues.
"I think he'll be able to get a step on defenders and have a chance to make plays."
Wylie was released by the Chiefs before the 2013 season after catching six passes in six games.
After a season with the Titans, Wylie went on to join six different teams over the following two seasons. He concluded his football career in 2016 in the Canadian Football League (CFL).
