Cortez Kennedy

Cortez C. Kennedy, a defensive tackle who spent all 11 of his NFL seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, was born on August 23, 1968, and died on May 23, 2017. He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012. Kennedy changed how a big interior lineman could be deployed on the field. In 1992, even though his team went 2–14, he was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Kennedy played college football at the University of Miami for the Hurricanes. He was born in Osceola, Arkansas, and grew up in nearby Wilson. After graduating from Rivercrest High School in Wilson, he attended Northwest Mississippi Community College before earning a scholarship to Miami, where he became an All-American in 1989. He was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Seahawks selected him third overall in the first round of the 1990 NFL draft. He did not sign a contract until two days before the season started. Kennedy made the Pro Bowl in 1991. The following year, he recorded 14 sacks and won the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award, despite Seattle’s 2–14 record. That season, he switched his jersey to number 99 to honor his close friend Jerome Brown. He was named First- or Second-team All-Pro five times.

Kennedy retired after the 2000 season, having played 167 games for Seattle with 668 tackles, 58 sacks, and three interceptions. He announced his retirement in August 2002 after sitting out the 2001 season. Other teams offered him contracts, but he wanted to end his career as a Seahawk. He is widely regarded as one of the best defensive tackles in NFL history. He was a Hall of Fame semi-finalist in 2008 and a finalist in 2009 and 2011 before being elected in 2012. He became the second Hall of Famer whose primary accomplishments came as a Seahawk.

After retiring, Kennedy worked as an advisor for the New Orleans Saints, whose general manager, Mickey Loomis, had previously been with the Seahawks. He later moved to Arkansas and Orlando, Florida, where he raised his daughter Courtney and focused on her education. In 2006, he was inducted into the Seahawks’ Ring of Honor. His number 96 was retired by the team during a game against the New England Patriots on October 14, 2012. In 2007, SI.com named him the best athlete ever to wear number 96.

Kennedy died on May 23, 2017, in Orlando, Florida, at age 48. Police reported he was alone at the time. In the days before his death, he had experienced symptoms of heart failure, including swollen legs and dizziness, and had been hospitalized. After his death, Wilson, Arkansas, named a stretch of U.S. Highway 61 in his honor.