The Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said rescuers were called around 12:30 p.m. local time to Tahquitz Rock near Idyllwild following a distress call. Officials said rescuers climbed up a steep remote area and found the climbers dead.
The climbers were identified as 31-year-old Escobar and 33-year-old Chelsea Walsh.
A small amount of rain fell in the area earlier in the day, but officials didn't immediately say if weather was a factor in the deaths.
Escobar had been a tight end for NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboy in a backup role from 2013 to 2016. He then had brief stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, ending his football career in 2019 with the now-defunct Alliance of American Football.
Escobar was hired in February as a Long Beach firefighter, the department said.
Tahquitz Rock, with its steep granite cliffs, is a popular destination for climbers.