Kenny Easley, a longtime safety with the Seattle Seahawks has died, the team confirmed Saturday morning.
The team said Kenny Easley lived up to the values of his team through “his leadership, intensity, and fearlessness” in a post uploaded to X. The Seahawks expressed condolences to his wife and three children in the post. His cause of death is not yet public knowledge.
Kenny Easley was drafted by the Seahawks with the fourth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft after playing college ball at UCLA
Over the next seven season, “The Enforcer” — as Kenny was called — terrorized opposing offenses … racking up 32 interceptions. His best year came in 1984 when he picked off opposing quarterbacks 10 times and won Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Easley was also elected to five Pro Bowls, named a three-time All-Pro, and played a major role in the 1987 NFL strike as a labor representative for Seattle … though his career ended in 1988 when he was diagnosed with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome — a severe kidney disease.
The Seahawks added him to their Ring of Honor in 2002 and he was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2017.