A pair of former Carolina Panthers died over the weekend, quarterback Jeff Lewis and offensive lineman Bryan Stoltenberg.
After a career at Northern Arizona where he completed 785 of 1,315 passes for 9,639 yards and 67 touchdowns, Lewis was a fourth round selection by the Broncos in the 1996 NFL Draft. He appeared in five games for Denver and after a year out of the league he hooked up with the Panthers for two seasons in 1999-2000. He appeared in a dozen games spread out over four years.
The 39 year old Columbus, Ohio native coached three seasons at Louisville, serving as an offensive administration assistant in 2007 and 2008 and wide receivers coach in 2009 before returning to his Alma Mater as wide receivers coach. He was elected to the NAU Hall of Fame in 2003.
No cause of death was released except to say that Lewis died in Phoenix on Saturday.
Stoltenberg, 40, was a teammate of Lewis playing for the Panthers from 1998-2000 where he started 18 of 38 games. He came to Carolina after spending the previous year with the Giants following a rookie campaign with the Chargers who drafted him in the sixth round out of Colorado.
From Kearney, Nebraska, Stoltenberg had undergone a number of surgeries after a car accident and passed away at his home in Sugarland, Texas. He was two-time, first-team All-Big Eight center in the mid-1990s.
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