Former Arizona Cardinal Kwamie Lassiter dies at age 49
Jan 6, 2019, 5:39 PM | Updated: 6:13 pm
Arizona Cardinals' Kwamie Lassiter, left, and teammate Corey Chavous, rear, tackle Oakland Raiders' Tim Brown during the first quarter of their preseason game Saturday, Aug. 11, 2001, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
Former Arizona Cardinals safety Kwamie Lassiter has died, the team announced Sunday.
Lassiter, 49, died of a heart attack while working out, Arizona Sports has learned.
“We were all devastated to learn of Kwamie’s passing today and our hearts go out to all of his family and friends,” Cardinals team president Michael Bidwill said in a statement.
Lassiter was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Kansas in 1995.
He spent his first eight seasons of his 10-year NFL career with the Cardinals, recording 24 interceptions in 115 games.
Lassiter’s most famous moment with the Cardinals came in the 1998 season, when he had four interceptions in the regular season finale against the San Diego Chargers.
The win over the Chargers secured the Cardinals’ first playoff berth in 15 seasons.
Lassiter also had a career-high nine interceptions in 2001, his second-to-last season with the Cardinals.
“Kwamie came to the Cardinals as an undrafted rookie free agent,” Bidwill said. “He not only became a key contributor to our team for eight seasons but continued to make an impact on this community after his playing days ended. He will be missed greatly.”
Lassiter was also the Cardinals’ first player host of the “Big Red Rage” radio show in 2002.
Heartbreaking news. Kwamie was such a good dude with an infectious personality. One of the faces of the franchise early 2000’s. We always laughed about when we hosted the Big Red Rage radio show at a corner table at Jilly’s, and people would stare & wonder what we were doing.#RIP https://t.co/BBeyIpAmTW
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) January 7, 2019
If you lived in the valley, you ran into @KwamieLassiter often
Always had a smile on his face, truly cared about former players and their families as well as his community. He always said yes when you needed him for an event. I’m gonna miss him— Jay Feely (@jayfeely) January 7, 2019
Kwamie was a prankster. It was PHI week and in a previous year, he got a pick six against his friend @donovanjmcnabb. Kwamie asked me for the radio call and we put it as his voicemail greeting. He left a message for Donovan to call him. When he did, Kwamie let it go to voicemail.
— Jim Omohundro (@jimohms) January 7, 2019
Following his playing career, Lassiter was a pregame and postgame host for the Arizona Cardinals between 2006 and 2008.
Lassiter’s son, Kwamie Lassiter II, is a redshirt freshman wide receiver at the University of Kansas.
