Browns' Bullmastiff Mascot, Swagger, Dies at Age 6

Swagger, the Cleveland Browns' six-year-old bullmastiff mascot, died Friday of cancer, the team announced.

Hayden Grove of Cleveland.com first reported the news.

Swagger led the team out of the FirstEnergy Stadium tunnel before every game there from Sept. 2014 to Oct. 2019. He was the team's first live mascot and made "regular appearances on Dawg Pound Drive and events throughout the community," per Browns writer Andrew Gribble.

Gribble also provided the following biographical information on the beloved dog:

"Swagger, who was born July 20, 2013, hailed from FD Farms, a certified member of the American Kennel Club, in Rootstown, Ohio. Fred and Debby McLaughlin are the operators of the farm, and their son, Justin, was Swagger's handler. Justin ran out of the tunnel alongside Swagger and has continued to do so with SJ."

The 145-pound bullmastiff's last game was against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 13, 2019, when he served as the Dawg Pound Captain.

His son, Swagger Jr., took over mascot duties from his father four weeks later when Cleveland hosted the Buffalo Bills. Known as "SJ," he will continue in that capacity for the 2020 season.

Per Grove, Justin McLaughlin, the son of Swagger's owners Fred and Debby McLaughlin, issued a Facebook statement following Swagger's passing, noting that his family would "always remember him as the most loving dog we have ever encountered."