Kasey Redfern

In 2023 Redfern was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour and central nervous system lymphoma, and he underwent chemotherapy for the next three years. On 26 September 2026, his 35th birthday, his wife Lauryl announced on Facebook that the family had decided to move him to hospice care. She wrote that his recent falls, memory loss and other symptoms were likely due to neurotoxicity from three and a half years of treatment.

Redfern died on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, aged 35. News of his death spread through Facebook tributes from friends and was reported by Yahoo Sports, the Daily Mail and other outlets on 15 October. Rob Greene, the former NFL player who became co-defensive coordinator at Texas Tech, called him a great man, husband, father and friend, and members of the Wofford football community described him as a true warrior. He was survived by his wife and their two sons. Funeral arrangements had not been made public.

Kasey Redfern was born on 26 September 1991 in Jamestown, North Carolina, the son of Kevin and Kelly Redfern. His brother, Kody, played college tennis at Catawba.

At Ragsdale High School in Jamestown he was the starting kicker and punter for three seasons. Under coach Tommy Norwood the team went 13-1 in both 2008 and 2009, winning the conference title and reaching the state quarterfinals each year. Redfern was twice named All-Conference, was All-State in 2009 and played in the 2009 Shrine Bowl. As goalkeeper for the soccer team he won three conference championships and earned All-Region honours, and he also lettered in swimming. He was a four-time scholar-athlete and a member of the Beta Club, National Honor Society and Key Club.

Redfern played four seasons at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, from 2010 to 2013, serving as punter, kickoff specialist and placekicker while majoring in accounting. He was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team in 2010 and to the conference Academic Honor Roll. In 2012 he ranked sixth in the conference in punting average, was named Southern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week and kicked a 53-yard field goal that set a school record.

Undrafted in 2014, he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars that June and returned on a futures deal in 2015. He joined the San Diego Chargers practice squad in December 2015 and signed with the Carolina Panthers in August 2016. Days later the Panthers traded him to the Cleveland Browns as part of the deal that sent punter Andy Lee to Carolina.

The Detroit Lions signed him in April 2017 and named him their starting punter while Sam Martin recovered from injury. In his NFL debut on 10 September 2017 against the Arizona Cardinals he punted once for 50 yards, but after fielding a bobbled snap in his own end zone and running for a first down he was hit near the sideline and suffered torn ACL and MCL ligaments and a partially torn patellar tendon, ending his season.

After a long rehabilitation he signed with the Dallas Cowboys in April 2019 and was released at the end of the preseason. In October 2019 the Atlanta Falcons, who had lost Matt Bosher and Matt Wile to injury, signed him and promoted him to the active roster, where he spent three weeks. In four regular season NFL games he punted 10 times for 421 yards, an average of 42.1 yards.

Redfern was married to Lauryl Redfern, and the couple had two sons, Ollie and Logan. Friends described him as a man of strong Christian faith. After his playing days he worked with young kickers, and a family friend remembered him as one of his son's kicking coaches.

Redfern's professional career was measured less in statistics than in perseverance: he was signed by seven NFL teams in six years and returned from a severe knee injury suffered in his debut to play again. At Wofford he left a school record for the longest field goal, and in Jamestown he is remembered as one of Ragsdale High School's most decorated kickers. His family's openness about his illness drew wide support from fans and former teammates.