According to this story in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, former Patriots defensive lineman Pio Sagapolutele has died at the age of 39.

Sagapolutele played a single season at right defensive tackle for New England, and started 13 games during a 1996 season that saw the Patriots lose Super Bowl XXXI to Green Bay. Believed to be a favorite of Bill Belichick, Sagapolutele was a fourth-round draft pick of Belichick in Cleveland in 1991, and joined Belichick when he became an assistant in New England. In all, he played in 63 games in five seasons for Belichick in Cleveland, starting 34.

Sagapolutele died in Arizona, where he just moved his family a few months ago. He is survived by his wife and three children, ages 13, 9 and 7.