Jaylon Ferguson, Baltimore Ravens Linebacker, Died From an Overdose

Jaylon Ferguson, an outside linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens who died last month after being found unresponsive in a North Baltimore home, died from the combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine, the authorities said on Friday.

Bruce Goldfarb, spokesman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Maryland, said Mr. Ferguson’s death had been ruled accidental.

The Baltimore police previously said that detectives were investigating and had not ruled out the possibility of an overdose. Detective Vernon Davis, a police spokesman, said on Friday that the investigation was continuing, and he declined to answer further questions about the case.

The authorities were called to a North Baltimore home on June 21 just before 11:30 p.m. to investigate a “questionable death.” When they arrived, Mr. Ferguson, 26, was unresponsive and paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. There were no signs of trauma or foul play, the authorities said at the time.

Chad Steele, a spokesman for the Ravens, said that the team was focused on the positive impact Mr. Ferguson had as a “father, son, fiancé, friend and teammate.”

“It would be inappropriate for us to comment further while we continue to support his family and teammates, who are mourning the tragic loss of a loved one and will celebrate his life tomorrow,” Mr. Steele said on Friday.

The Ravens selected Mr. Ferguson during the third round of the 2019 N.F.L. draft as the 85th overall pick. In his rookie season, he recorded 31 tackles and 2.5 sacks, and he contributed to a Ravens defense that ranked third in points allowed. In 2020, in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals, he recorded a career high of six tackles.

Mr. Ferguson, a Louisiana native and a graduate of Louisiana Tech University, broke the N.C.A.A. record for career sacks with 45, earning the nickname “Sack Daddy” and beating out a longtime former Ravens player, Terrell Suggs, who posted 44 career sacks at Arizona State University.