Dean Wells, former NFL linebacker and Kentucky standout, dead at 54 following cancer battle

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Dean Wells, who played for nearly a decade in the NFL following a standout career at the University of Kentucky, died Thursday following a two-year battle with cancer. He was 54. 

Wells spent the first six years of his NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks after he was selected in the fourth round of the 1993 draft. He signed with the Carolina Panthers in 1999, where he played for another three seasons before officially retiring in 2001. 

FILE - Dean Wells, #95 of the Carolina Panthers, runs on the field during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Dec. 12, 1999. (Jonathan Daniel /Allsport)

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The Panthers announced Wells’ passing on the team website Friday. 

Wells first opened up about his cancer diagnosis in an interview with On3.com in April 2024. He said he had been diagnosed the previous year with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

"There’s mental toughness that comes into it. You have to have a positive attitude that you can beat it. I’ve done everything that I can with that. It’s like the chemo either works or it doesn’t. You just don’t have a lot of control over it. You wish you had more control," he said at the time. 

FILE - Linebacker Dean Wells, #95 of the Seattle Seahawks, looks on during the game against the San Diego Chargers at the Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California, on Oct. 25, 1998.  (Todd Warshaw /Allsport)

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According to the Mayo Clinic, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow in which "the disease progresses rapidly and