Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jaylon Ferguson died Tuesday evening at the age of 26, the team announced Wednesday.
The cause of death has yet to be determined by a medical examiner, Baltimore police said.
Officers from the city’s Northern District responded at approximately 11:25 p.m. to a report of a “questionable death” at a residence, according to police. Ferguson was said to have been found unresponsive while being attended to by medics, who eventually pronounced him dead at the scene after he failed to regain consciousness.
No signs of trauma or initial indicators of foul play were found, police said.
They added that “investigators are not ruling out the possibility of an overdose.”
We are profoundly saddened by the tragic passing of Jaylon Ferguson. pic.twitter.com/ylBvLEzjer
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) June 22, 2022
Later Wednesday, the Ravens confirmed the reported death that morning of Tony Siragusa, a popular former defensive tackle who helped Baltimore win the Super Bowl after the 2000 season.
“This is a tremendously sad day for the Baltimore Ravens,” the team said after sharing a remembrance of Siragusa, who died at 55 of as-yet undisclosed causes.
A 2019 third-round pick by the Ravens out of Louisiana Tech, where he earned the nickname “Sack Daddy,” Ferguson was entering his fourth season with Baltimore. He had struggled to make a major impact and was thought by some to be on the team’s roster bubble this year, but at the Ravens’ minicamp last week, Ferguson generated positive reports with a lean physique and eye-catching pass rushes. Toward the end of the three-day session, Ferguson suffered an injury that Coach John Harbaugh described as a minor ankle sprain.
“The last person I talked to leaving the facility,” fellow Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen said of Ferguson on Wednesday on Twitter. “Spent almost everyday in the sauna together tryna see who gone last longer. Said it was our turn this year man. Ima miss you bro.”
Another Baltimore linebacker, Josh Bynes, tweeted that he and Ferguson frequently engaged in “REAL” conversations.
“Joked together, laughed together, prayed together, fought on the field together!!” Bynes added. “Just a genuine spirit. Love this man! Will miss you bro.”
Was just talking to Ferg about when we gone see Sack Daddy come out..a big year was ahead
— marlonhumphrey.eth (@marlon_humphrey) June 22, 2022
At Louisiana Tech, Ferguson set a Football Bowl Subdivision record with 45 career sacks, breaking a mark of 44 held by Arizona State’s Terrell Suggs, who would go on to star for the Ravens. Ferguson’s senior campaign in 2018, which resulted in a Conference USA-record 17.5 sacks, earned him conference defensive player of the year honors and a number of second- and third-team all-American citations.
“We will remember his God-given talents on the field and his infectious personality off of it,” Louisiana Tech’s football program said Wednesday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
