LeRoy Irvin, 4-time All-Pro who starred as cornerback and punt returner for Rams, dies at 68
Former Los Angeles Rams standout LeRoy Irvin has died, the team confirmed Thursday. The four-time All-Pro was 68 years old.
Irvin starred as a cornerback and punt returner for the Rams during the 1980s. He played 10 of his 11 NFL seasons in L.A. before finishing his career with the Detroit Lions in 1990.
Although the details of Irvin's death weren't disclosed by the Rams, reporter Eric Geller posted Thursday on X that Irvin had been battling throat cancer. Geller wrote that he worked with Irvin as part of a broadcast team following Irvin's retirement from the NFL. They called Buena Park High School football games together, Geller said in his post.
"I will miss that raspy voice and that sense of humor that made me smile and laugh whenever we met up at some Rams function," Geller wrote.
Also on Thursday, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson took to Instagram to honor Irvin. They overlapped with the Rams from 1983-87, including during the 1984 season when Dickerson famously rushed for an NFL-record 2,105 yards and 14 touchdowns.
"Devastated to hear about the passing of my brother, teammate, and Rams legend Leroy Irvin," Dickerson wrote in his commemorative IG post.
"Leroy wasn't just a lockdown corner and a fierce competitor on the field; he was a true friend and a great man who always brought incredible energy. Rest in peace, my brother. Sending my thoughts and prayers to the Irvin family and all of Rams Nation."
In addition to Dickerson rewriting the NFL rushing record in 1984, Irvin snagged a pair of pick 6s. He had five of those in his career, and he finished with 35 total interceptions.
Irvin piled up at least four interceptions each season from 1983-86. He earned Pro Bowl nods in the final two seasons of that window. In 1986, Irvin scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery and an interception.
He clocked out with 11 total touchdowns in the NFL. Four of those came via punt returns. In 1981, his second season in the league as a third-round draft pick out of Kansas, Irvin housed three punts. And two of them arrived on the same day in October that season. He took one punt back 75 yards and another 84 yards. Irvin set a single-game NFL record with 207 punt return yards in a 37-35 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
Irvin earned first-team All-Pro accolades as a returner that season. In 1986, he received first-team All-Pro recognition as a cornerback, entering rare air as an NFL player who warranted that prestige at two different positions.
