A heartbreaking year for the Philadelphia Eagles — 6 former players lost in 2026 - Pennsylvania News Beep

It has been a heartbreaking year for the Philadelphia Eagles when it comes to losing former players.

That is because at least six former Eagles have died.

The following is a look back at the Birds who we have lost so far in 2026:

BILLY RAY BARNES

Philadelphia Eagles legend Billy Ray Barnes actually diedo on Dec. 31 in Landis, North Carolina, but news of his death was not reported until early January.

The team announced his passing with a post on its website that it also shared to social media.

“He was 90 and had a fabulous life,” his daughter, Billi Barnes Akins, told the team.

Barnes was a native of Landis, and he went on to play college football and baseball at Wake Forest.

Barnes was excellent in both sports — he hit .319 to help the Demon Deacons win the 1955 baseball national title — but he was the ACC Player of the Year in football in 1956 and that was his big ticket. The Eagles took him in the second round, 19th-overall, of the 1957 NFL Draft.

Barnes was with Philadelphia for five seasons. He was a Pro Bowl pick in three of those seasons and help the team with the 1960 NFL Championship.

“One of the things that he loved about the Eagles is in that championship game, they were the underdogs,” his daughter told the team. “Dad always liked being the underdog. He said it made him tougher, made him stronger, made him play harder.

“He said the only thing that allowed them to win was their team,” she added. “They were a team that was really tight and believed in each other.”

Barnes was with the Eagles through the 1961 season and then went on to play for Washington from 1962 through 1963. He suffered an injury prior to the 1963 season and was cut by Washington.

Barnes returned to the Eagles and the NFL in 1965 but was traded to the Minnesota Vikings before the season began. He wrapped up his career with the Vikings following the 1966 season.

He finished with 3,421 rushing yards to go with 153 catches and 1,786 receiving yards across his career. He scored 38 touchdowns.

Barnes moved into coaching as the head coach of the Continental Football League’s Charleston Rockets in 1967, and he also worked as an assistant with the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons in the years that followed.

JACK CRABTREE

Jack Crabtree, a star quarterback at Oregon who was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, died on March 16.

He was 90.

Crabtree’s death was announced by the University of Oregon.

“Oregon football mourns the loss of former Duck quarterback Jack Crabtree, MVP of the 1958 Rose Bowl and a 2002 Oregon Hall of Fame inductee,” the Oregon football team account on X posted.

A native of Alma, Arkansas, Crabtree first attended San Bernardino Junior College. He transferred from there to Oregon, and took over as the team’s starting quarterback as a senior. Crabtree led the Ducks into the Rose Bowl against Ohio State that year. He was 10 of 17 passing for 135 yards in the game and was named MVP despite the fact that his team lost to the Buckeyes, 10-7.

He is one of just two players to earn the Rose Bowl MVP honor while playing for the losing team. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1998.

Crabtree completed 55 of 99 passes that year for 624 yards and was an All-Pacific Coast Conference honorable mention pick.

Crabtree was selected in the 12th round, 136th overall, by the Eagles in 1958.

But instead of suiting up immediately for Philadelphia, Crabtree served in the Army for two years.

He returned to football in 1960 and had stints with the Denver Broncos and Chargers that year, which was his last in professional football. Following his retirement, Crabtree worked for the sportswear company Champion and eventually became the manager of its West Coast sales team.

KEVIN JOHNSON

New disturbing details have emerged in the death of former Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Kevin Johnson.

Johnson, 55, was found dead on Jan. 21 outside a homeless encampment in Los Angeles. Police said he was suffering from head trauma when they found him, and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The medical examiner noted that Johnson had also been stabbed.

The Los Angeles medical examiner’s office recently released its findings. The report said that Johnson had skull fractures, brain contusions, and a “total of five sharp force wounds” to his neck.

The report also claimed that Johnson had traces of angel dust and meth in his system.

Johnson was found face down and partially covered by a tarp, according to reports. Police found a bloody shovel, a crutch and a broomstick near his body. They said they also found a bloody part of a tree and a rock or a brick with blood on it near his body.

Police believe his death may be connected to three other killings involving homeless people in Los Angeles, per NBC. The outlet reported that the sheriff’s department said the three other individuals were found at homeless encampments near the same area in the Willowbrook community between October and January.

“All four victims were unhoused individuals who were living in encampments,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement per NBC. “Homicide investigators continue to pursue all investigative leads and remain committed to identifying the individual or individuals responsible for these crimes.”

The sheriff’s department said it responded to another homicide at nearly the same location, according to NBC, on Jan. 26, and that person was also declared dead at the scene.

Johnson was a 6-foot-1, 305-pound defensive tackle who played college football at Texas Southern. He was drafted in the fourth round, 86th overall, by the New England Patriots in 1993. He went on to have stints with the Vikings and Raiders before landing with the Eagles for the 1995 and 1996 seasons.

His friends have expressed a concern that he may have been dealing with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, known as CTE, which is the brain disease suffered after multiple blows to the head.

“He was a loving man. He was a family man. He was a father, a friend, and all of the above,” Johnson’s son, Branden Johnson, told NBC. “He loved everyone around him and would give his shirt off his back just to make sure everybody else around him was OK.”

SONNY JURGENSEN

Sonny Jurgensen died on Feb. 6.

He was 91.

Jurgensen, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983, was drafted by the Eagles in the fourth round, 43rd-overall, in the 1957 draft.

He played for the team through 1963, adn then spent a decade with Washington before finishing his career in 1974.

Jurgensen helped the Eagles win the 1960 NFL Championship. He led the league in passing yarsd five times, and touchdown passes twice.

Jurgensen finished his career with 32,224 passing ayrds to go with 255 touchdowns and 189 interceptions.

BARRY WILBURN

Former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Barry Wilburn was killed in a house fire on Feb. 6.

He was 62.

Action News 5 reported that the Memphis Fire Department responded to the fire on Douglas Avenue in Orange Mound at 2 a.m. The outlet said Wilburn was found unresponsive in a rear hallway and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Wilburn was a native of Orange Mound, and he played collegiately at Ole Miss. Washington selected him in the eighth round, 219th-overall, of the 1985 NFL Draft. Wilburn played for the team through the 1989 season, helping win Super Bowl XXII, 42-10, over Denver.

He had two interceptions in the big game.

He also hold Washington’s record for longest interception return in a game after taking a pick back 100 yards for a score against the Minnesota Vikings in 1987.

Wilburn did have some adversity in his career.

He fell out of the league for a stretch after a positive drug test in 1989, but he returned in 1992 with the Cleveland Browns. He spent the 1993 and 1994 seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and BC Lions respectively.

Wilburn also helped BC win the 1994 Grey Cup.

He returned to the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1994 and then spent his final two years in the league with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1995 and 1996.

Wilburn closed out his career with another run in the Canadian Football League with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1999.

Wilburn led the NFL in interception with nine in 1987 and was a first-team All-Pro. He finished his career with 246 tackles, 20 interceptions and that one touchdown scored.

CHARLE YOUNG

Charle Young died on March 12.

He was 75.

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The 6-foot-4, 234-pound tight end who starred at Southern Cal before the Eagles took him sixth-overall in the first round of the 1973 draft.

He played for the team through 1976 and then had stints with the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks before wrapping up his career in 1985.

He helped the 49ers win Super Bowl XVI against the Bengals and finished his career with 418 catches for 5,106 yards and 27 touchdowns.

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A heartbreaking year for the Philadelphia Eagles — 6 former players lost in 2026

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