Former Atlanta Falcons punter Kasey Redfern died Oct. 13 at age 35 after a multi-year battle with central nervous system lymphoma, according to confirmation from the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office in South Carolina.
Jonathan Lawson, chief investigator for the office, told reporters the agency had been notified of the death, though no additional details on the circumstances were released.
Redfern, born Sept. 26, 1991, in Jamestown, North Carolina, had undergone roughly 3.5 years of treatment after doctors discovered a brain tumor and diagnosed CNS lymphoma in 2023.
His wife, Lauryl, shared on Facebook in late September that the family had decided to move toward hospice care following a sharp decline over the summer.
She described symptoms including falls, severe short-term memory loss, vomiting and other issues linked to neurotoxicity from prolonged treatment.
“His poor brain has had all it can take treatment wise so we want to make sure that he can be as comfortable as possible,” Lauryl wrote.
She added that if Redfern “makes it to Heaven soon, he will have it better than the rest of us and for that all I can do is be thankful and joyful and filled with peace (and a lot of jealousy) that He will be WHOLE and in glory with our Savior — the best place we could ask to be.”
Redfern leaves behind Lauryl and their two sons, Logan and Ollie. A GoFundMe launched in 2023 to support the family raised more than $53,000.
The Falcons signed Redfern to their practice squad on Oct. 11, 2019, and promoted him to the active roster the following day.
He became Atlanta’s third punter of the season after injuries sidelined starter Matt Bosher and then Matt Wile.
Redfern appeared in the Falcons’ next three games, handling both punting and kickoff duties during a stretch of losses to the Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
In those contests he punted nine times for 371 yards, averaging 41.2 yards per attempt with a long of 54. He placed three punts inside the 20-yard line and recorded a net average of 36.9 yards.
He also handled 15 kickoffs for 818 yards, averaging 54.5 yards, with nine touchbacks.
Overall in his brief NFL career, Redfern appeared in four regular season games — one with the Detroit Lions in 2017 and three with Atlanta — and finished with 10 punts for 421 yards, a 42.1-yard average and a long of 54.
With the Lions he recorded one 50-yard punt and a 10-yard rush on a botched snap before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
Redfern went undrafted out of Wofford in 2014 and spent time on the rosters or practice squads of the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Diego Chargers, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Falcons.
He was waived by Atlanta on Oct. 29, 2019, after the three-game stint.
Former Wofford teammate and Texas Tech co-defensive coordinator Rob Greene remembered Redfern as a “Great man, husband, father, and friend” while supporting the family’s fundraising efforts in 2023.
