Image credit: ClutchPoints

Lions’ Former Pro Bowl QB Greg Landry dies at 77

Originally posted on NFL on ClutchPoints | By Josue Pavon | Last updated Oct 5, 2024 10:50 AM ET

Former Detroit Lions quarterback and assistant coach Greg Landry has died. He was 77. Landry was one of the greatest Lions quarterbacks in franchise history. Detroit announced Landry’s death on social media on Friday, but no cause of death was given.

The team made the following statement, per the Associated Press.

“We join the NFL community in mourning the loss of former Lions quarterback and coach Greg Landry,” the team said.

Landry threw for 16,052 yards with 98 touchdowns and 103 interceptions in his NFL career. Aside from being a dominant quarterback, he was considered one of the best running quarterbacks in NFL history, gaining more than 2,600 yards with 21 touchdowns.

From 1968 to 1981, he played for the Lions and the then-Baltimore Colts. Landry moved to the USFL for two seasons, playing with the Chicago Blitz in 1983 and the Arizona Wranglers in 1984. The Lions selected the University of Massachusetts product with the 11th pick in the 1968 draft. He played 11 seasons before being traded to the Colts, where he played three seasons for Baltimore.

Greg Landry named NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 1976

Greg Landry was a first-team All-Pro and made the Pro Bowl in 1971 when he threw for 2,237 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Detroit Lions. After going 7-6-1 that season, he went 8-5-1 in 1972, his best season for the Lions. In 1976, Landry was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year after passing for 2,191 yards and 17 touchdowns.

In 1995, he rejoined the Lions as a quarterbacks coach on Wayne Fontes’ coaching staff. Landry was also an assistant coach at the collegiate level and was inducted into the UMass Hall of Fame in 1980. He led UMass in passing for three seasons and was the team’s top rusher and scorer in 1965 and 1967.

After Lions quarterback Jared Goff made history against the Seahawks, the Lions head into its bye week with a 3-1 record.

This article first appeared on NFL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: