Six years ago today, we learned that former Philadelphia Eagles safety Andre Waters had died the night before from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Waters was a member of the feared Eagles defenses of the early-90s that terrorized the NFL. Sitting here, I can still rattle off most of their defensive starters...Jerome Brown and Mike Golic at tackle, Reggie White and Clyde Simmons at defense end, Eric Allen and Mark McMillian at the corners, William Thomas and Seth Joyner at the outside linebacker spots with Byron Evans in the middle.
The Eagle defense was the nemesis of the Cowboys in the early 90s, with Philadelphia being the team I most feared at that time, because it seemed like they were uniquely able to stymie the Cowboy offense, as Joyner was one of the few linebackers able to cover Jay Novacek one-on-one, allowing the safeties to double Michael Irvin and Alvin Harper.
In any case, Waters' death was a shock, and I think was one of the incidents that has ultimately brought more attention to the issue of head injuries in the NFL, as it was determined that he had suffered from serious brain damage that had resulted in his brain tissue being like that of an 85 year old.