Nick Mangold, the former All-Pro center for the Jets who spent all 11 of his NFL seasons with New York, has died, the team announced on Sunday. He was 41.
Mangold died on Saturday night from complications of kidney disease, according to the Jets. Less than two weeks ago, Mangold had publicly stated that he needed a kidney transplant and asked for help in finding a donor. He was diagnosed in 2006 with a genetic defect that had led to chronic kidney disease.
Selected No. 29 by the Jets out of Ohio State in the 2006 NFL Draft, Mangold was a three-time All-Pro before retiring in 2016. He was a first-team All-Pro in 2009 and 2010, when he helped the Jets reach consecutive AFC Championship games. From 2008-2015, Mangold was named to seven Pro Bowls.
“It’s brutal,” an emotional Rex Ryan, who was the head coach of the Jets for six of Mangold’s seasons, said on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.” “Such a great young man.”
Rex Ryan mourns the loss of his former player Nick Mangold following his death from kidney disease. pic.twitter.com/xhpJJ0yue3
— ESPN (@espn) October 26, 2025
With Mangold anchoring the front line alongside fellow Pro Bowl offensive linemen Alan Faneca and D’Brickashaw Ferguson in 2009, the Jets led the league in total rushing yards (2,756 yards). They ranked fourth in 2010.
Mangold was a leader on the Jets and, with an outgoing personality, bushy beard and long blond hair that peeked out from his helmet, he was a recognizable figure and beloved by fans. When he was inducted into the Jets’ Ring of Honor in 2022, he drank a can of Bud Light during his on-field speech at halftime. Ryan recalled Mangold’s fierce loyalty, even in tough times.
“I remember it was obvious I was going to get fired,” Ryan said on ESPN. “My last game, Mangold’s injured, like injured, and he comes to me and says, ‘I’m playing this game.’ He wanted to play for me. That’s what I remember about this kid. He was awesome, and just way too young. I feel so bad for his wife and family.”
Jets owner Woody Johnson released a statement Sunday, calling Mangold “one of the greatest to ever wear the green and white.”
“He was the heartbeat of our offensive line for a decade and a beloved teammate whose leadership and toughness defined an era of Jets football,” Johnson said. “His impact on our organization, and our fans will continue to be felt for generations.”
Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson reacted to the news on social media. “I am devastated to hear this,” he said, “and will hold on to the insight you’ve given me over these past few years.”
Mangold started at center in his first game with the Jets in 2006, and he didn’t miss a game until 2011, when an ankle injury ended his streak of 89 straight starts. He helped lead the Jets to four winning seasons during that stretch, including three playoff appearances and trips to the AFC Championship Game in 2009 and ’10.
After the Jets’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, the team’s first of the season, coach Aaron Glenn paid tribute to Mangold. Noting that he was a scout with the organization when Mangold was playing, Glenn called him “the heart and soul of this team.” Jets kicker Nick Folk, a former teammate of Mangold’s, was in tears in the postgame locker room.
“At the end, he was there with us,” Folk told reporters.
As news of Mangold’s death spread, former teammates and coaches shared tributes to him and memories of their time together on and off the field.
Darrelle Revis, the Jets’ Hall of Fame defensive back who spent eight seasons in New York with Mangold, posted on social media: “I was fortunate to have the opportunity to lace them up with you every Sunday. I will miss you and forever cherish our moments in the locker room.”
“He was more than a teammate,” former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez wrote on X. “He was my big brother who introduced me to the NFL.” Sanchez spent four seasons with Mangold and the Jets, beginning with Sanchez’s rookie year in 2009.
Ohio lieutenant governor Jim Tressel, who coached Mangold at Ohio State, called his former player “everything you could wish for as a teammate, player, son, friend, husband, father, and American: loyal, hard-working, selfless, caring, and loving.”
Mangold was a three-year starter at Ohio State, where he earned first-team All-America honors as a senior in 2005. He was also a member of the Buckeyes’ national championship team in 2002 as a freshman.
Willie Colon, who played alongside Mangold on the Jets’ offensive line from 2013 through 2015, held back tears while speaking about Mangold on the SNY cable network. “It broke me,” Colon said, describing his reaction to the news of Mangold’s death.
“He was the face of the Jets,” added Colon, who is now a studio analyst for the network. “He was the captain, and he made room for a guy like me. … He allowed me in that room to not only be a leader, but somebody who had a voice.”
“When I got the nod from Rex Ryan to come to New York and play, I didn’t just want to play for the Jets. I wanted to play with Nick Mangold. I wanted to play besides D’Brickashaw Ferguson, because we were all in the same draft class. We all got drafted in ’06 together so we had… pic.twitter.com/BC3hyWbJaE
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) October 26, 2025
Last week, Mangold was named as one of 52 modern-era players who cleared the second hurdle toward possible induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026. The final list of four to eight players who will make up the Hall’s Class of 2026 will be named in February, the day before Super Bowl XL.
Speaking on SNY, Colon detailed the close bonds that offensive linemen form while playing together and explained how Mangold had supported him during his time with the Jets.
“The thing about offensive linemen, man, we take all the arrows, we take everything that comes with the dirty work — that’s part of our creed,” Colon said. “But what gets us through it is the fact that we’re doing it together.
“There was a lot of days when I was going on that field with one leg, and I could look to 74 and he said, ‘I got you.’ And there was times when emotionally I was a wreck, and he always had my back. So, I love you, Nick.”