Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Jordan Devey has died, according to a post from his wife on social media Thursday night. He was 38.
Linsey Devey shared the news on Instagram and included the message that his last words to her were: “We’ll talk soon.”
“Today would have been our 15th year anniversary,” Linsey Devey posted on Instagram. “We have filled the walls of our homes and hearts with countless memories, joys, struggles, and triumphs.
“We brought 4 beautiful children into this world that have your eyes, freckles, and compassion. You were our hero and our hearts ache in your absence.
“We love you. We miss you. And as you said in your last words to me, ‘we’ll talk soon.’”
According to a GoFundMe website to which Linsey linked, Devey took his own life.
Devey played three seasons with the Chiefs beginning in 2016, after a career that took him through six NFL teams. He was with the Patriots when they won the Super Bowl in 2015.
His path to the league was anything but ordinary. As a child, he dealt with Osgood-Schlatter disease, a painful knee condition that kept him off the football field for several years when he was in eighth grade.
During that stretch, he turned to the tuba and joined the nationally acclaimed American Fork High School marching band in Utah, later performing at President George W. Bush’s Inaugural Parade in 2005.
After high school, Devey spent two years in Costa Rica as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Once his knee problems eased, the 6-foot-7, 250-pound lineman walked on at Snow College in Utah and later finished at the University of Memphis before entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2013.
He also played for the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Raiders.
After football, the Deveys spent time in Johnson County, where they and their business partners opened two now-closed locations of California-based Cookie Co. in 2023. At the time, Devey told The Star, “Kansas City loves Kansas City,” he told The Star at the time. “There’s so many big things going on here.”
Devey later became a well-known youth football coach in Eagle, Idaho, and tributes from that community began appearing as news of his death spread. The Eagle Stallions football team called him someone who left “a legacy far greater than wins and losses.”
“Jordan’s impact on youth sports in Eagle wasn’t measured by trophies or championships-it was measured by the lives he touched.
“He believed in kids, invested his time, shared his knowledge, and helped build confidence, character, and a love for the game in countless young athletes. He made every player feel seen, every family feel welcome, and every team stronger because of his presence.
“The fields won’t feel the same without him, but his influence will never leave them. Every practice, every game, every lesson about teamwork, perseverance, and doing things the right way carries a piece of what Jordan stood for.
“Our community has lost an incredible mentor, coach, and friend, but his legacy will continue to live on through the generations of young athletes he inspired.
“Rest easy, Coach.”
Eagle City Council member Robert Gillis also posted about meeting Devey at a city council hearing in May, where he was there with a developer and family to “advocate for a large home build in the Avimor area.”
Gillis wrote that he later learned the man was Eagle High School Football Coach Jordan Devey. He said Devey was “a very big strong healthy looking man who was very respectful and likeable” and added that he was “extremely sad” to get the calls and texts about his death.
“I am a huge advocate for mental health and wellness,” Gillis wrote. “We never know the internal demons and stressors that people in our sphere are facing. They can put on happy faces and act as though they have everything handled, and then something like this occurs.
“It is not a unique issue with any special demographic or economic group in our society. Suicide has no boundaries and it has unfortunately touched a lot of lives in our country, state, valley, and city.
It is something we may not be able to prevent, but we have to do better to keep trying. Every life is worth saving.”
In Other News...
DeAndre Hopkins May Be Nearing An Unexpected Career Crossroads
DeAndre Hopkins is back in the news this week for reasons that go well beyond the usual free-agent chatter. The veteran receiver is visiting the Patriots during training camp, reconnecting with Mike Vrabel after the two were together with the Titans in 2023, and the setting alone makes it clear this is not just a routine stop on the offseason circuit.
For Kansas City, Hopkins latest move is a reminder that his next chapter is still unwritten after a recent run with the Chiefs that gave them another proven target in the passing game. His future remains open heading toward the 2026 season, and the fact that he is still weighing what comes next adds an unusual layer to a career that has already taken him through several different contenders. [Read more 🡒]
Why Chiefs Retired No 33 Still Hits Fans So Hard
Retired numbers usually mark championships, longevity or the kind of star power that fills a stadium for years, but No. 33 in Kansas City carries a different kind of weight. It belongs to Stone Johnson, the former Olympic sprinter whose brief time with the Chiefs and Dallas Texans ended before he ever played a regular-season snap for the franchise, a detail that makes the tribute feel less like a football honor than a reminder of how fragile a career can be.
The number also has a second layer of history attached to it through Curley Johnson, who spent an early stretch with the Dallas Texans before carving out his own place as a record-setting punter for the New York Jets. Put together, the two stories give No. 33 an unusual place in Chiefs lore, one tied to promise cut short and another to a player who found success elsewhere, which is why the number still lands with fans in a way that goes beyond the usual retired jersey ceremony. [Read more 🡒]