Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Ray Seals is dead at 59. The news of his passing was reported by friends on Twitter.
His cause of death wasn’t immediately known.
Born in Syracuse, New York, he was rare modern-day player who didn’t attend college. Instead, he played for the San Antonio Express in the Empire League, a semi-pro league, before being found by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1988. Missing his first year with a back injury, he played five seasons with them, starting 28 games and recording 15.5 sacks.
One of Seals’ most notable plays was being on the defensive end of Green Bay Packers QB Brett Favre’s pass to himself, Seals deflected the initial throw that Favre caught on the way down.
Pittsburgh signed him as a free agent ahead of the 1994 season, a three-year deal that included a $400,000 signing bonus. Though he spent just two years with the Steelers, he made an immediate and significant impact to the Steelers’ pass rush and their Blitzburgh defense. In 1994, Seals registered seven sacks before besting that with 8.5 takedowns, tying a career-high, the following season.
In 1995, he finished second on the team in sacks, narrowly trailing Kevin Greene’s nine.
Seals also started for Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX, their loss to the Dallas Cowboys. He finished the game with a sack of Cowboys QB Troy Aikman.
He missed the entire 1996 season with a torn rotator cuff.
“It’s a blow, and it’s very unfortunate to lose a player the quality of Ray,” head coach Bill Cowher said at the time.
A free agent after the season, he spent his final playing season with the Carolina Panthers in 1997, the franchise’s third year in the NFL. Seals appeared in 14 games, starting seven, and registered one sack. The Cincinnati Bengals rostered him during the 1998 offseason, but he didn’t make the team.
Over an eight-year career, Seals played in 90 games with 62 starts. He recorded 215 tackles and 32 sacks, an impressive career given his humble football beginnings.
