Former NFL defensive lineman Louis Nix was found dead in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday (February 27), three days after he was reported missing. He was 29-years-old.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office pulled a car out of a retention pond near Nix's apartment. According to the Florida Times-Union, the vehicle matched the description of a Hyundai Azera that Nix was driving after on Tuesday when he went to visit his father.
Authorities have not provided many details about the case but told Nix's mother, Stephanie Wingfield, that they do not believe foul play was involved in his death. She suggested that he may have had a heart attack but won't know for sure until an autopsy is completed.
"It's all a mystery right now until they give me more information about what happened," she told the newspaper.
Nix was a standout defensive lineman at Notre Dame, but a knee injury in his senior year plagued him throughout the rest of his career. He was drafted by the Houston Texans in 2014 but needed surgery before training camp. He never played a game for the Texans and underwent another surgery before the end of his rookie season. In 2015, he ended up playing just four games with the New York Giants. He also spent time on the practice squad for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Washington Football Team. His career came to an end in 2017 after he was released by the Jaguars.
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