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The NFL is mourning the loss of another player. While 2026 is just nearing the end of its second month, several former NFL players have lost their lives. Rondale Moore, a wide receiver who last played for the Minnesota Vikings, was found dead at his home. While the details remain a bit murky, the tragedy is coming into clearer focus. 2025 wasn’t particularly kind to the league, either. With multiple high-profile deaths rocking the NFL.

Rondale Moore dead at 25

Rondale Moore, a standout college football star and NFL wide receiver, has died. Reports of Moore’s death trickled in on the evening of February 21, when several local news stations reported that a 25-year-old  had been found dead inside a home in Indiana. Police in New Albany, Indiana, later confirmed Moore was the deceased individual.

According to WHAS 11, Moore was found inside the garage of his home with a gunshot wound. The injury appeared to be self-inflicted, but a complete autopsy was scheduled for February 22. The NFL has issued a statement following the announcement of Rondale Moore’s death. Several NFL players have also taken to social media to pay tribute to their late teammate and friend.

Moore, a high school and college standout, was drafted 49th overall in the 2021 NFL draft. He was a breakout star during his first season with the Arizona Cardinals. He played for the Cardinals through the 2023 season before he was traded to the Falcons. Moore suffered multiple injuries before joining the Minnesota Vikings for the 2025 season. He suffered a season-ending injury before playing a regular-season snap for the team, though. It’s unclear what his plans were for the 2026 NFL season.

Moore’s death comes just months after Marshawn Kneeland’s tragic passing

Rondale Moore’s death at 25 is hitting the NFL especially hard. It comes just a few months after several other high-profile deaths, including Marshawn Kneeland’s. Kneeland, a standout for the Dallas Cowboys, died by suicide after a police chase on November 6, 2025. Kneeland had significant mental health concerns before his death, with his girlfriend sounding the alarm with police after she and Kneeland’s family received troubling texts from the NFL star.

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Kneeland’s death followed the rather mysterious death of former NFL running back Doug Martin. Martin, 36, died in October 2025, while in police custody. According to the Mercury News, police arrested Martin during a break-in, but he became unresponsive and later died. He had previously checked into rehab and had a stay in a psychiatric facility after his 2019 retirement. His cause of death has not been made public.

Kneeland, Moore, and Martin’s deaths are all leading to growing concerns around mental health in the NFL and how head trauma is negatively impacting longtime players.

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