Former Stanford Football Defensive End Josh Mauro Passes Away at 35

The Stanford football community is in mourning. Earlier in the week, the Cardinal program got hit with some very bad news regarding former defensive end, Josh Mauro who passed away at the age of 35. A key part of multiple Stanford football bowl teams, Mauro's passing is big loss for the Cardinal, but also in the world. No cause of death has been revealed.

A member of the Cardinal football team from 2010 to 2013, Mauro was one of the mainstays of a Stanford defense that guided the team to four straight bowl games, including consecutive Rose Bowl appearances in 2012 and '13.

A 2013 Pac-12 honorable mention after finishing the year with four sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss, Mauro turned some heads. While he went undrafted in the 2014 NFL Draft, he quickly signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

After getting cut from the team as part of final roster moves, Mauro joined the Arizona Cardinals and made a name for himself there, spending four seasons as key part of the Cardinals' defensive line.

Following his release from the Cardinals ahead of the 2018 season, Mauro spent time with the New York Giants (2018), Oakland Raiders (2019) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2020) before rejoining the Cardinals and spending the final year and a half of his NFL career in Arizona.

While never formally retiring, Mauro has not played a down of football since 2021 and lived a quiet life in the days that followed. Following his death on April 23, Mauro's father released a statement.

"With many tears and broken hearts, yet anchored in the unshakable certainty that our precious Josh Mauro is now healed and made new—living in the presence of the Lord—we humbly covet your prayers as our family walks through the devastating loss of our amazing son, brother, uncle, grandson and friend," Mauro's father, Greg, posted on Facebook.

"On Thursday, April 23rd, Josh breathed his last breath on this earth and his first breath in heaven. The Lord has been our strength in this unimaginable moment. Your prayers for continued strength and comfort mean more to us than words could ever express."

Stanford football also posted on their social media account, delivering a tribute to its former star pass rusher. The world will not be the same without Mauro in it, but now, the Cardinal enter the season with added motivation, wanting to win in Mauro's honor.

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