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The Lions announced Thursday that former NFL defensive end Jessie Lemonier has died. He was 25 years old.

“We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of former Detroit Lion Jessie Lemonier,” the team said in a release. “Jessie was a model teammate and wonderful young man who is gone too soon.”

It’s unclear what the cause of death is at this time.

Lemonier played at Liberty in college and signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2020. He subsequently signed with the Lions in ’21 and was briefly claimed off waivers by the Cardinals in March ’22 before getting released that August.


Lemonier would have turned 26 years old Tuesday.