The football community is mourning a tragic loss.

Dean Wells, a former linebacker who played in the NFL for nearly a decade, died on April 3 after a two-year battle with cancer, according to his former team the Carolina Panthers. He was 54.

Wells was first drafted into the NFL by the Seattle Seahawks in 1993, shortly after enjoying a successful college football career at the University of Kentucky. He played with the Seahawks for five seasons before signing with the Carolina Panthers as a free agent. 

After spending three seasons with the team, the athlete retired from the sport altogether in 2001.

In early 2023, Wells was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and immediately began rounds of chemotherapy, according to Kentucky sports publication KSR. His cancer went into remission following months of the treatment, but returned by the fall.

“Show me who to tackle and I can do that,” Wells told the outlet in April 2024. “This is in the doctors’ hands and it’s in God’s hands.”