Former Ravens LB Diagnosed With Cancer

“The scariest part is finding out that it was cancer, because the last image I have is seeing it take my father away and seeing him deteriorate from it,” Kindle said. “He was the strongest man I know.”

After being out of football for years, Kindle returned to the game as a high school coach in Texas, spending 2023 as a linebackers coach at Woodrow Wilson High School and currently being the defensive coordinator at Hillcrest High School (both schools are in Dallas). Hillcrest head coach Adrian Madise showed his support for Kindle after the diagnosis.

“It’s tough,” Madise said. “God gives his strongest people the biggest tests. It’s a blessing that he found out when he did. A lot of people find out too late. It’s something that we believe he is going to be able to pull through."

The good news is that Kindle appears to be in good spirits, and is hopeful that surgery can remove the cancer.

“They haven’t had anything negative to say when it comes to that, based on it being so early, and my youth and my fitness level,” Kindle said. “They think that I won’t need radiation or chemo. [The doctor] said there is a great chance it won’t come back, but it’s cancer, so you can’t just say 0%."

The Ravens drafted Kindle in the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Texas, but unfortunately, he never really established himself in Baltimore. Due to injuries and off-field troubles, he only appeared in three games in as many seasons with the Ravens and logged just 21 total snaps (15 on defense and six on special teams). The Ravens waived him in October of 2012, so he didn't even get to suit up during the team's Super Bowl XLVII run.

At Texas, Kindle was a first-team All-American in 2009 and logged 2.5 sacks in the national championship game against Alabama that year.