Josh Mauro
Mauro with Stanford in 2013
No. 73, 97, 69, 96
Position Defensive end
Personal information
Born (1991-02-17)February 17, 1991
St Albans, England
Died April 23, 2026(2026-04-23) (aged 35)
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 290 lb (132 kg)
Career information
High school L. D. Bell (Hurst, Texas, U.S.)
College Stanford (2010–2013)
NFL draft 2014: undrafted
Career history
  • Pittsburgh Steelers (2014)*
  • Arizona Cardinals (2014–2017)
  • New York Giants (2018)
  • Oakland Raiders (2019)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (2020)
  • Arizona Cardinals (2020–2021)
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles 130
Sacks 5
Forced fumbles 2
Fumble recoveries 1
Pass deflections 5
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Joshua Daniel Mauro (February 17, 1991 – April 23, 2026) was an American professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Arizona Cardinals, New York Giants, and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal.

Early life

Mauro was born in St Albans, England. His father, Greg, had been stationed for work in England.[1] When Mauro was three, his family moved back to the United States,[2][3] where he grew up in Texas.[4]

He was named to the Dallas Morning News first-team all-area and Associated Press all-state team in high school.[4] He was ranked as the nation's 31st-best prospect weakside defensive end by Rivals.com.[4]

College career

Mauro attended Stanford University. On October 9, 2013, he was named on the Bednarik Award watch list.[5] On November 18, 2013, he was named on the Ted Hendricks Award midseason watch list.[6] On December 2, 2013, he was an honorable mention for the All-Pac-12 team.[7]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Wingspan 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 5+7⁄8 in
(1.98 m)		 271 lb
(123 kg)		 33 in
(0.84 m)		 9+1⁄2 in
(0.24 m)		 6 ft 4+1⁄2 in
(1.94 m)		 5.21 s 1.78 s 2.92 s 4.50 s 7.43 s 32 in
(0.81 m)		 9 ft 8 in
(2.95 m)		 29 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[8][9]

Pittsburgh Steelers

Mauro began his professional career by signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent, but was released during the final roster cuts.

Arizona Cardinals (first stint)

After his release from the Steelers, Mauro signed with the Arizona Cardinals. During his rookie season in 2014, Mauro played 5 games with 6 tackles and a pass defended. In 2015, he played 14 games with 15 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defended, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery.

In 2016, Mauro started 13 of 15 games he played in recording a career-high 42 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. Set to be a restricted free agent in 2017, Mauro signed a two-year contract to remain with the Cardinals on January 12, 2017.[10]

On March 16, 2018, Mauro was released by the Cardinals.[11]

New York Giants

On March 19, 2018, Mauro signed with the New York Giants reuniting with his former defensive coordinator in Arizona, James Bettcher.[12]

On March 23, 2018, Mauro was suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2018 regular season for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.[13]

After being reinstated from his suspension, he recorded a tackle in the Giant's Week 5 loss to the Carolina Panthers. After the bye week and the trading of Damon Harrison, he was named the starting defensive end next to defensive tackle B. J. Hill and nose tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. In his first game as a starter for the Giants, a win against the San Francisco 49ers, he recorded 5 tackles. In a Week 11 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he recorded 4 tackles. Mauro would remain the starting 5-tech defensive end for the rest of the 2018 season and finished with 28 total tackles (17 solo and 11 assists), 1 sack, 4 tackles for a loss, and 1 QB hit.

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

On March 15, 2019, Mauro signed with the Oakland Raiders.[14] He was released on September 1, 2019, but was re-signed a day later.[15]

Jacksonville Jaguars

Mauro signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on August 12, 2020.[16] The NFL suspended him for the first five games of the 2020 NFL season for violating the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy on August 21, 2020.[17] He was reinstated from suspension on October 12,[18] and he was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on October 17.[19] He was activated from the list on October 22 and subsequently released by the Jaguars.[20] He was re-signed to the practice squad two days later.[21]

Arizona Cardinals (second stint)

On October 28, 2020, Mauro was signed by the Arizona Cardinals off the Jaguars practice squad.[22] Mauro made his debut with the Cardinals in Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins. During the game, Mauro recorded his first sack of the season on Tua Tagovailoa during the 34–31 loss.[23] He was placed on injured reserve on November 28, 2020.[24] He was designated to return from injured reserve on December 16, and began practicing with the team again,[25] but was waived on January 13, 2021.[26]

On August 10, 2021, Mauro re-signed with the Cardinals.[27] He was released on August 31, 2021.[28] He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 19.

Death

Mauro died on April 23, 2026, at the age of 35. No cause of death was provided or revealed.[29][30][31]

References

  1. ^ Reid, John (September 19, 2013). "Mauro a real find for Cardinal". The Mercury News. Retrieved April 28, 2026. Mauro was born in St. Albans, England, moving to Texas when he was 3. His father, Greg, had been stationed for work in England.
  2. ^ "Cardinals 'heartbroken' after former defensive end Josh Mauro dies at age of 35". The Guardian. April 28, 2026. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  3. ^ Josh Mauro 'It's Been Great' To Experience London. Arizona Cardinals. October 19, 2017. Event occurs at 0:06. We moved back when I was three.
  4. ^ a b c "Stanford Profile". gostanford.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  5. ^ "Mauro Added to Bednarik Watch". gostanford.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
  6. ^ "Gardner-Webb's Riddick Named To Hendricks Award Mid-Season Watch List". gwusports.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  7. ^ "Stanford football players named all-Pac-12". mercurynews.com. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  8. ^ "Josh Mauro Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  9. ^ "Josh Mauro College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  10. ^ Urban, Darren (January 12, 2017). "Josh Mauro Re-Signs With Cardinals". AZCardinals.com.
  11. ^ Williams, Charean (March 16, 2018). "Cardinals cut Josh Mauro". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
  12. ^ Eisen, Michael (March 19, 2018). "New York Giants sign DE Josh Mauro". Giants.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  13. ^ Raanan, Jordan (March 23, 2018). "Giants' Josh Mauro suspended four games for PED violation". ESPN. Retrieved April 29, 2026.
  14. ^ "Raiders sign defensive end Josh Mauro". Raiders.com. March 15, 2019.
  15. ^ "Raiders claim quarterback DeShone Kizer". Raiders.com. September 1, 2019. Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  16. ^ Oehser, John (August 12, 2020). "Jaguars Sign Defensive Lineman Josh Mauro". Jaguars.com. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  17. ^ Baca, Michael (August 21, 2020). "Jaguars DE Josh Mauro suspended five games for violating NFL PED policy". NFL.com. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  18. ^ "Jaguars' Josh Mauro: Completes suspension". CBSSports.com. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  19. ^ "Jaguars' Josh Mauro: Placed on COVID list". CBSSports.com. October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  20. ^ "Jaguars Make Roster Moves". Jaguars.com. October 22, 2020.
  21. ^ Bouda, Nate (October 24, 2020). "NFL Transactions: Saturday 10/24". NFLTradeRumors.co. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
  22. ^ Urban, Darren (October 28, 2020). "Hurting On Defensive Line, Cardinals Bring Back Josh Mauro". AZCardinals.com.
  23. ^ "Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals - November 8th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  24. ^ Urban, Darren (November 28, 2020). "Zach Allen Activated, Josh Mauro, Darrell Daniels To Injured Reserve". AZCardinals.com. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
  25. ^ "Cardinals' Josh Mauro: Back at practice". CBSSports.com. December 16, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  26. ^ Root, Jess (January 13, 2021). "Cardinals waive DL Josh Mauro from IR". USAToday.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  27. ^ "Cardinals Announce Signing of 3 Defensive Ends, 1 Tight End". Revenge of the Birds. SB Nation. August 10, 2021.
  28. ^ Urban, Darren (August 31, 2021). "Initial Roster Set As Cardinals Cut Down For Season". AZCardinals.com.
  29. ^ Rosvoglou, Chris (April 28, 2026). "Former NFL Defensive End Josh Mauro Dead At 35". The Spun. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  30. ^ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved April 28, 2026.
  31. ^ Arnold, Christian (April 28, 2026). "Josh Mauro, former Giants defensive end, dead at 35". Retrieved April 29, 2026.