Kasey Redfern has died at the age of 35 after a cancer battle that had been publicly shared by family and friends, bringing a sad end to the life of the former NFL punter. Former NFL Punter Kasey Redfern had been fighting central nervous system lymphoma after doctors discovered a tumor on his brain in May 2023.
Redfern's career in football was brief but memorable. He played collegiately for Wofford from 2010 to 2013 before signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014 as an undrafted free agent. He went on to appear in four regular season NFL games, a short run that still made him part of the league's long line of specialists who have had to fight for every opportunity.
The illness that had been shared publicly
The seriousness of Redfern's condition had been discussed openly in recent months through a GoFundMe and Facebook posts. Last month, Lauryl wrote on Facebook that Redfern had made the move toward hospice care, saying that “his poor brain has had all it can take treatment wise” and that the priority was to make sure he could be as comfortable as possible.
She also described him as “the love of my life,” while adding that if he made it to Heaven soon, he would be better off there because he would be whole and in glory. It was a deeply personal message that underlined just how hard the final stretch of his illness had become for those closest to him.
A brief NFL career, but one that still mattered
Redfern's football journey did not last long at the professional level, but it did include time in the NFL after his years at Wofford. The move to Jacksonville in 2014 gave him the chance to compete at the highest level, and he also spent time around other teams in the league during his career.
Rob Greene had urged donations in May, calling Redfern a “great man, husband, father, and friend.” On Friday, Jonathan Lawson said the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office had recently been notified of Redfern's passing. That confirmation brought formal notice to a story that had already been followed closely by family, friends, and supporters.
For all the pain around the illness, the response to Redfern's battle showed the impact he had away from the field. His death is a reminder that behind every brief NFL career is a wider life, one shaped by family, community, and the people who stood beside him when football was no longer the main story.
