Seahawks Hall of Famer Kenny Easley Passes Away at 66

Seattle Seahawks safety Kenny Easley (45) against the Miami Dolphins at the Orange Bowl during the 1984 AFC Divisional Playoff game. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Manny Rubio-Imagn Images

Renowned as the original “Enforcer” in the Seattle Seahawks’ secondary and a true trend setter for his position, Hall of Fame safety Kenny Easley passed away on Friday night. He was 66 years old.

Easley, who spent all seven of his NFL seasons with the Seahawks, had been battling health issues for quite some time dating back to his playing days, leading to a shortened career that lasted just 89 games. But few players had a greater impact in the 1980s than the former UCLA star, who finally earned a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017 after waiting 25 years to join football immortality.

Selected with the fourth overall pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, the 6-3, 206-pound Easley immediately emerged as one of the league’s premier all-around safeties in Seattle, intercepting three passes, returning a pick for a touchdown, and recovering four fumbles. He made his first Pro Bowl in 1982, intercepting four passes in just eight games in a strike-shortened season, serving as a precursor for one of the most dominant three-year runs by any safety in NFL history.

Starring for a dynamic secondary that included cornerback Dave Brown and safety John Harris, Easley set a new career-high with seven interceptions in 1983 and added three sacks, receiving First-Team All-Pro recognition for the first time as he helped the Seahawks make an unlikely trip to the AFC Championship Game. The following season, he picked off a league-best 10 passes and returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns while forcing three fumbles, becoming the first player in franchise history to garner NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors as the team returned to the postseason.

Though Easley’s interception numbers dropped to two in 1985, he continued to play at an elite level, tallying two sacks and three forced fumbles to earn First-Team All-Pro honors for a third straight season. Unfortunately, injuries derailed his 1986 season, as he was limited to 10 games by knee and ankle issues, and after intercepting four passes in 1987, the Seahawks traded him to the Cardinals as part of a deal for quarterback Kelly Stouffer, only for the deal to be voided when he was diagnosed with idiopathic nephrotic syndrome - a rare kidney disease - during his physical.

With that diagnosis, Easley announced his retirement a few months after Seattle’s failed attempt to trade him, finishing his illustrious career with 32 interceptions, three defensive touchdowns, eight sacks, and nine forced fumbles. He earned three First-Team All-Pro team selections as well as five Pro Bowls in seven seasons, including four straight Pro Bowls from 1982-1985, which held as the team record until eventual Hall of Fame defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy broke it in the 1990s.

After announcing his retirement, Easley filed a lawsuit against the Seahawks, stating that team doctors had overdosed him with Advil while recovering from an ankle injury in 1986, which led to the kidney failure. The two sides settled matters outside of court and two years after his retirement, he received a new kidney at the University of Washington Medical Center, and for nearly two decades, he cut off most of his connections with the Seahawks organization due to the fallout of the lawsuit and the ill-fated trade to the Cardinals for Stouffer.

But after Paul Allen purchased the franchise, the two sides reconciled with the star safety being inducted into the Ring of Honor in 2002 and maintained a cordial relationship up until his death. By 2017, he had been inducted into the Hall of Fame, becoming the fourth player who spent his entire career in Seattle to have his bust in Canton, while also having his No. 45 retired by the franchise.

Easley is survived by his wife Gail and three children Kendrick, Gabrielle, and Giordanna.