Ex-Colts WR Sean Dawkins dead at 52, cause of death unknown

Sean Dawkins, a widely respected football star, who made millions cheer in his time on the gridiron is dead at 52. The cause of death is unknown. Jim Irsay commented on the death on Twitter.

Here's how he put it

“Rest in peace, Sean Dawkins. I am shocked and saddened. My prayers and condolences to Sean’s family.”

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Sean Dawkins' NFL career revisited

Sean Dawkins celebrating as a member of Indianapolis Colts

Dawkins was a wide receiver for a number of teams, but was most well known for his time with the Indianapolis Colts. He also spent time with the Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints. He played in the league from the age of 22 through 30. In those years, he totalled 6,291 receiving yards and 25 touchdowns.

Sean Dawkins was a workhorse with zero availability concerns, playing in the vast majority of games in each year with the exception of his rookie season, in which he played in seven games.

However, his single-best season came near the end of his career in 1999 with the Seattle Seahawks, in which he caught 58 passes for 992 yards and seven touchdowns. Overall, he was one of the most consistent players one could ask for in the league, turning in more than 700 yards in all but two seasons in his career.

He also was no stranger to the playoffs, appearing in three postseasons. His biggest postseason run came with the Colts in 1995, when he turned in 185 yards and a touchdown over the course of three games. In that postseason, the Colts defeated the San Diego Chargers handily by a score of 35-20 and also the Kansas City Chiefs in a defensive showdown by a score of 10-7.

The postseason run fell short, however, at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 20-16. They were on the road for every game of the postseason run and as such, were underdogs by default.

Dawkins was known for playing a big part in that memorable pre-Peyton Manning postseason push against the odds.

In 1996, he returned with the team one more time, but the team fell short in their first game. In 1999, capping his best season in the league, he got one final look at the postseason before hanging up his cleats after the millennium change.