Deacon Jones, a prototype of the pass-rushing defensive end who became a master of the sack and one of the National Football League’s greatest defensive players with the Los Angeles Rams’ line known as the Fearsome Foursome, died on Monday in Anaheim Hills, Calif. He was 74.

His death was announced by the Washington Redskins through their general manager, Bruce Allen, whose father, George Allen, coached Jones with the Rams and the Redskins.

Jones had been treated for lung cancer and heart problems, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in September 2009. Jones told the newspaper then that he had undergone lung surgery and had a pacemaker installed the previous May.

Jones was a 14th-round draft pick from a historically black college, and he arrived in the N.F.L. when offensive players garnered most of the headlines. But in his 14 seasons, he parlayed his strength, his agility and his size — 6 feet 5 inches and 270 pounds or so — to glamorize defensive play.