Tracy Scroggins, Lions’ No. 3 sack leader, dies at 56

Former Detroit Lions defensive end Tracy Scroggins, who ranked third in franchise history with 60.5 sacks, has died, the team announced Monday. He was 56.

The Lions did not provide a cause of death for Scroggins, who played 10 seasons in the NFL, all with Detroit. On the Lions’ career sack list, he trails only Michael Cofer (62.5) and Robert Porcher (95.5).

We join the NFL community in mourning the loss of Lions Legend Tracy Scroggins, who played his entire 10-year career in Detroit (1992-2001). pic.twitter.com/AyW1HBuWfH

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) February 10, 2026

Scroggins, who played in 142 games, including 89 starts, was a key contributor during one of the more successful stretches in Detroit’s history. He helped the Lions, led by Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders, reach the playoffs in three straight seasons (1993-95). It is the only time in the Super Bowl era that the Lions reached the postseason three years in a row.

The Lions made the playoffs five times during Scroggins’ 10 seasons.

Detroit selected Scroggins in the second round of the 1992 NFL Draft out of Tulsa, where he was a standout defender on a team that went 10-2 with a victory in the Freedom Bowl. A native of Checotah, Okla., he totaled 10 sacks in his two seasons with the Golden Hurricane.

Before Tulsa, Scroggins starred as a fullback for Coffeyville Community College in Kansas. He got inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2002.