Former NFL lineman Korey Cunningham found dead in New Jersey at age 28

Korey Cunningham, a former NFL lineman who last played for the New York Giants, was found dead in his Clifton home Thursday, police said.

Cunningham, 28, was discovered unresponsive around 1:15 p.m. Thursday, Detective Lt. Robert Bracken of the Clifton Police Department told NorthJersey.com. Officers had been called to the house by a family member who was unable to contact him.

The cause of death is still under investigation, but there is "no evidence of foul play," Bracken said.

The Giants confirmed Cunningham's death in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

"We are saddened to hear of the passing of Korey Cunningham," the statement read. "He was a vital part of the spirit and camaraderie of the locker room. Our thoughts are with Korey’s family, friends and teammates."

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Cunningham, an offensive lineman, played for the Giants during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He was a seventh-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, playing six games for the team before joining the New England Patriots for parts of two seasons. He did not play in the NFL in 2023.

Fellow lineman Justin Pugh, who played for the Giants from 2013 to 2017 before rejoining the team last season, was teammates with Cunningham on the Cardinals in 2018. When he returned to the Giants, he and the other linemen still included Cunningham in their weekly dinners.

"We would invite him to the OL dinner every week even though he wasn’t on the team, which doesn’t happen…ever. Team dinners are for players on the team only," Pugh wrote on social media Friday. "Except for Korey….solely because he was beloved by all the guys regardless if you knew him or not! He’d tell stories and we’d laugh."

Pugh was saddened by the news but said he would "always remember the good times and the laughs."

"Everyone who knew (Cunningham) was better for it," he said, adding, "The world lost a great soul."

New York Giants beat writer Art Stapleton contributed to this article.