Terry Glenn: An Appreciation
Source – Former NFL wide receiver Terry Glenn was killed Monday morning in a car accident in Irving, Texas, according to media reports.
He was 43 years old.
The Dallas County medical examiner’s office later confirmed Glenn’s death saying the cause was a “suspected motor vehicle accident.”
Police say the vehicle that Glenn was traveling in was headed eastbound on a highway and crashed into a concrete barrier which divides the express lanes from other lanes. The driver was ejected from the car, and another passenger suffered minor injuries.
Glenn played for 12 seasons in the NFL with the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers and spent his final five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s stating the obvious that this is horrible news. No one at this point seems to know the circumstances that caused the crash that took Terry Glenn’s life. But regardless of the outcome of the investigation, a man is dead all too young and leaves grieving loved ones behind.
I want to be honest in the moment, because I’ve been on record before, both here and in my Patriots book, talking about Glenn as a football and not much of it was complimentary. A lot of it was pretty harsh. This isn’t the time to get into it, obviously. But he had issues with Patriots management that made him a divisive figure here, without question. And yet, based on what I’m reading today, Glenn seemed like one of those guys who had matured and gotten his priorities together in the middle of his life after growing up with a lot turmoil.
For example, there was this, one of his last social media appearances:
In one of his last great moments, Terry Glenn proposing to his fiancee Verina LeGrand. Prayers to her. She was also injured in the crash. She posted this video on Facebook last month. I talked to him. He was excited and happy pic.twitter.com/7GTTtfjlhS
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) November 20, 2017
And this, that Feits posted earlier, and is heartbreaking given the news of this morning:
So sad to hear about former Cowboys WR Terry Glenn’s death.
This is what he wrote on his website recently about being a Dad. Please be praying for his children. pic.twitter.com/UNrpdWN7QX
— Jason Romano (@JasonRomano) November 20, 2017
I will say this about his time in New England: He was as gifted and exciting an athlete any of us saw in our lifetimes. A guy who made some of the most spectacular plays in team history. Consider this one, against Pittsburgh in the playoffs in 1996, in a fog so dense the TV cameras couldn’t find the ball. And yet he managed to, on the Pats first play from scrimmage:
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Terry Glenn catches a 53 yard Drew Bledsoe pass in the fog. 1996 AFC Divisional Playoff. I was there and lost sight of the football. Terry didn’t. pic.twitter.com/z8xUugNA5H — Guglielmo (@bzref) November 20, 2017
And this one, from 1998, the longest of his career:
Patriots-Steelers 1998: Terry Glenn’s 86 yard TD from @DrewBledsoe, the longest reception in Glenn’s career & longest completion in Bledsoe’s. #RipTG88 pic.twitter.com/WyvgmwTaZU
— ’03 Kliff Kingsbury (@fearthe_beard11) November 20, 2017
And I’ve been saying for 20 years that if the Patriots had beaten Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXI – which is to say if they hadn’t kicked the ball straight to Desmond Howard down by 6 in the 3rd quarter – this would be remembered as one of the greatest catches of all time:
Terrible news regarding Terry Glenn. Will never forget the catch he made in Super Bowl XXXI. pic.twitter.com/JNgXmvlyNi — Mark Dondero (@MarkDondero) November 20, 2017
And just for the historic footnote/future trivia answer, there’s this one from 2001, Tom Brady’s first touchdown:
BRADY TO GLENN
Here’s Tom Brady’s first NFL TD pass to Terry Glenn vs Chargers in 2001. Glenn then threw the ball in the stands instead of giving it to Brady.#wbz #Patriots pic.twitter.com/49znyDyoUL— Scott Sullivan (@SullyBunz) November 20, 2017
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So there were a lot of great moments before things unfortunately ended badly over a business dispute. And based on the reports, a lot to celebrate in a life that got cut short. So all you can do is remember those positives. And remind yourself once again that sports isn’t real. Life is, and it can be over in a second. So RIP to an incredible athlete.