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Uche Nwaneri, a former NFL offensive lineman who played seven seasons for the Jacksonville Jaguars, has died, the team announced Monday. He was 38.
Nwaneri died Friday at his wife’s West Lafayette, Indiana, home after making a trip up from Georgia, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier. Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello said Nwaneri’s wife found him unresponsive in a bedroom of her house at around 1 a.m. ET and called for help.
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Maurice Jones-Drew #32 of the Jacksonville Jaguars celebrates his touchdown against the New York Jets with teammates Mike Sims-Walker #11, Jarett Dillard #87, and Uche Nwaneri #77 on November 15, 2009 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Costello said there were no signs of foul player and a preliminary investigation determined that the former NFL player died of a possible heart attack.
Word of Nwaneri’s death resonated in the NFL world.
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Nwaneri’s parents immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in the 1970s, according to the Journal & Courier. He was born in Dallas, Texas, and went to Purdue to play college football.
Uche Nwaneri #77 of the Jacksonville Jaguars in action against the Tennessee Titans at LP Field on December 5, 2010 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
The Jaguars chose him in the fifth round of the 2007 draft and he worked his way up to being a starting guard protecting quarterbacks like David Garrard, Luke McCown, Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne.
He made 92 starts for Jacksonville out of the 104 games he appeared in over the course of his career.
Jacksonville released him following the 2013 season and he hit the free-agent market in March 2014. He signed with the Dallas Cowboys later that summer but never latched onto the team and was released before the start of the season.
Uche Nwaneri #77 of the Jacksonville Jaguars celebrates a victory over the Denver Broncos following the NFL season opener game at EverBank Field on September 12, 2010 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
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In his post-playing career, Nwaneri launched a YouTube page to comment on the happenings of the NFL. He recently posted a YouTube short talking about the late Franco Harris.
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