Dennis DeWayne Byrd (October 5, 1966 – October 15, 2016) was an American football

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

and defensive tackle for the New York Jets of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He attended college at the University of Tulsa in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. He played professionally for the Jets for four seasons beginning in 1989. Over his four seasons, he recorded 28 sacks and 110 tackles. His career ended when he was paralyzed following a collision with a teammate during a game. Through rehabilitation, he later managed to walk again. Byrd was killed in a car accident near

Claremore, Oklahoma Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County in Green Country or northeastern Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,580 at the 2020 census, a 5.4 percent increase over the figure of 18,581 recorded in 2010.

Career

Byrd attended Mustang High School in

Mustang, Oklahoma Mustang is a city in the southeastern corner of Canadian County, Oklahoma, United States. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan statistical area. Mustang's population was 19,879 at the 2020 census, a 14.3% increase from 17,398 in 2010. The c ...

. In his senior year, he was named an All-State

. He enrolled at the University of Tulsa, where he played college football for the

Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane are the athletic teams that represent the University of Tulsa. These teams are referred to as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (or variously as TU or Tulsa). Before adopting the name Golden Hurricane in 1922, the University of T ...

. Byrd started for the Golden Hurricane defense for four seasons, registering 321

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

and 20 quarterback sacks. ''

College Football News ''College Football News'' (''CFN'') is a magazine and website published by College Football News, Inc., headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. News coverage includes scores, statistics, rankings, and reports on college football games. Analysis includ ...

'' selected Byrd as an All-American honorable mention after his senior season, where he had 108 tackles, 11 sacks, and 35 quarterback hurries. The New York Jets of the

(NFL) selected Byrd in the second round of the

1989 NFL Draft The 1989 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 1989, at the Marriott Ma ...

, with the hope that he could succeed

Mark Gastineau Marcus Dell Gastineau (born November 20, 1956) is an American former football player who was a defensive end for the New York Jets from 1979 to 1988. A five-time Pro Bowler, he was one of the quickest and most feared pass rushers of his generatio ...

. He played for the Jets as a backup defensive end in a

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs ...

in 1989, registering seven sacks. The Jets switched to a

4–3 defense In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, ...

in 1990, and Byrd became a defensive tackle that season. Byrd made 13 sacks in 1990 and seven sacks in 1991. He again played as a defensive end in 1992. Byrd missed a month of the 1992 season due to a shoulder injury.

Injury and recovery

Byrd suffered a neck injury during an NFL game against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

on November 29, 1992. During the play, he rushed in an attempt to sack Chiefs

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Dave Krieg David Michael Krieg ( ; born October 20, 1958) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He attended Milton College in his home state of Wisconsin and made the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent. ...

, but Krieg stepped up to avoid the tackle, and Byrd collided with Jets teammate

Scott Mersereau Scott Robert Mersereau born (April 8, 1965 in Riverhead, New York, United States) is a former defensive lineman for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He attended college at Southern Connecticut State University. He played prof ...

. He ducked his head at the last moment before he collided with Mersereau's chest. The head-first collision broke his fifth cervical vertebrae and left him unable to walk. During his recovery, the Jets briefly used an

ichthys The ichthys or ichthus (), from the Greek (, 1st cent. AD Koine Greek pronunciation: , "fish") is (in its modern rendition) a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to re ...

logo bearing his

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to ...

, No. 90. After extensive physical therapy, Byrd walked again, but could no longer return to playing football. Byrd returned to the Meadowlands for the Jets' home opener on September 5, 1993, walking to midfield as an honorary captain for the coin toss. During a halftime ceremony, Jets president Steve Gutman presented him with a trophy for the Most Inspirational Player Award, which would thereafter be called the Dennis Byrd Award.

Later life

The Jets retired Byrd's No. 90 during a half-time ceremony on October 28, 2012, against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

. However, it had been informally retired for some time before then; the Jets had not reissued No. 90 since Byrd's injury. Byrd was the co-author with journalist Michael D'Orso of an autobiographical work titled ''Rise and Walk: The Trial and Triumph of Dennis Byrd'' and the subject of a made-for-television film '' Rise and Walk: The Dennis Byrd Story''.

Peter Berg Peter Berg (born March 11, 1964) is an American director, producer, writer, and actor. His directorial film works include the black comedy ''Very Bad Things'' (1998), the action comedy ''The Rundown'' (2003), the sports drama '' Friday Night Lig ...

played him in the movie. Byrd spent several years traveling across the country and sharing his life story. He served as defensive line coach at

Owasso High School Owasso High School is a high school located within Tulsa County in Owasso, Oklahoma, United States. It is among the largest high schools in Oklahoma by enrollment with nearly 3,000 students. The school is known for being involved in the '' Owass ...

Owasso, Oklahoma Owasso is a city in Rogers and Tulsa Counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and the largest northern suburb of Tulsa. The population was 38,732 persons as of the 2021 census estimate, compared to 28,915 at the 2010 census, a gain of 32.24 percen ...

and later at Lincoln Christian School in

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. He lived outside of Tulsa with his wife, the former Angela Hales, and their four children. He was a devout

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

. During the week leading up to the 2010–11 AFC Divisional matchup between the Jets and the Patriots, Byrd sent Jets' head coach

Rex Ryan Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL), and also held various coaching position ...

his tattered, cut up jersey that had been cut from his body on the day of his injury along with an inspirational letter addressed to the Jets. Ryan was so moved by this that he invited him to come out and personally address the team prior to the Patriots game. The inspired Jets carried his jersey to the coin toss prior to the game; the Jets won 28–21.

Personal life

Byrd was the third child of five born to Daniel and Nancy Byrd. He was born in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. Dennis and his wife Angela were married December 20, 1986 and had four children.

Death

Byrd was killed at approximately 11:15 a.m. on October 15, 2016, in a two-vehicle collision on Oklahoma State Highway 88 between

Claremore Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County in Green Country or northeastern Oklahoma, United States. The population was 19,580 at the 2020 census, a 5.4 percent increase over the figure of 18,581 recorded in 2010.Oologah. According to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol report, a 17-year-old driver from Claremore veered his Ford Explorer into the oncoming lane, colliding with Byrd's

Hummer H2 The Hummer H2 is a large SUV that was marketed by Hummer and built in the AM General facility under contract from General Motors from 2002 to 2009. It is based on a modified GMT820 GM three-quarter-ton pickup truck in the front and a half-ton 1 ...

. Byrd was 50 years old. His 12-year-old son, who was a passenger, was also injured in the accident.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd, Dennis 1966 births 2016 deaths American Pentecostals American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles New York Jets players People from Mustang, Oklahoma Players of American football from Oklahoma Road incident deaths in Oklahoma Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players National Football League players with retired numbers