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Shane Dronett
Born: Jan. 12, 1971 in Orange, Texas
Died: Jan. 21, 2009
Shane Dronett was born in Orange, Texas and attended
high school in Bridge City. Attending the University of
Texas at Austin on a football scholarship, Dronett was
named All-American in 1991 and was drafted by the
Denver Broncos out of college in the second round of
the 1992 NFL draft. He played in all 16
games his rookie season and had 6.5 sacks.
After playing with the Broncos for three seasons, he
left for the Atlanta Falcons in 1996, and after four games
joined the Detroit Lions. After the Lions released Dronett
at the end of the 1997 season, he was rehired by the
Falcons and their new head coach Dan Reeves, who had
originally drafted Dronett to play for the Broncos. As a
lineman he played a significant role in the Falcon's
defense, which ranked second in the NFL against the
run and were the NFC champions, playing the Broncos
in Super Bowl XXXIII. In January 2000, Dronett
signed a five-year $20 million-dollar contract but was
released from the Falcons in 2003 after suffering a torn
ACL and several knee and shoulder problems.
In 2007, Dronett was diagnosed with a benign brain
tumor. Both before and after its removal, he suffered
from severe mental illness. Following his death in
2009 scientists also determined that Dronett suffered
from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a brain
disease associated with football players who endure
repeated impacts to the head.

