Ryan Wetnight (November 5, 1970May 1, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

for eight seasons with the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He finished his career with 175 receptions for 1,542 yards and 9 touchdowns in 101 games. Upon concluding his playing career, Wetnight became a real estate broker in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In 2019, he was hired as the wide receivers coach at

Grace Brethren High School Grace Brethren Jr./Sr. High School (GBHS) is a co-educational, college-preparatory Christian school in Simi Valley, California serving grades 7–12. The school is one of three campuses in Simi Valley comprising the Grace Brethren Schools, the oth ...

. In 2018, he was diagnosed with

gastric cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

. Although the cancer was treated by January 2019, an inoperable tumor developed near his stomach later that year. Wetnight died on May 1, 2020, at 49.

References

1970 births 2020 deaths Businesspeople from California Players of American football from Fresno, California American football tight ends Chicago Bears players Green Bay Packers players Stanford Cardinal football players Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in California Brian Piccolo Award winners {{tightend-1970s-stub