DENNIS BYRD ; leaves behind a legacy of toughness

Dennis Byrd knew it was the right time to give back the jersey he wore in his final NFL game. This was a few days before the Jets were set to face the Patriots in the 2010 AFC divisional playoffs, and Byrd was so captivated by the way his former team was playing that he wanted to provide some extra motivation. So he found the No. 90 jersey he wore on that terrible afternoon of Nov. 29, 1992, and sent it directly to then-Jets coach Rex Ryan, jotting down a few words to wish him good luck with the rest of the season. Ryan was so moved that he invited Byrd to speak to his players the night before the game. There were tears and hugs and then more tears that night as Byrd shared his memories with the players. He spoke about his horrific collision with teammate Scott Mersereau, a blow so thunderous that he suffered a fractured vertebra and was told he would never walk again. But he also spoke about his miraculous recovery, how his faith carried him through the most difficult time of his life and helped him defy the prognosis, and how badly he now wanted to see these guys pull off an upset of the Patriots just weeks after the Jets had suffered a 45-3 loss in Foxborough. The jersey hung in the Jets’ locker room that day, and it served as a fitting emblem for what turned out to be a 28-21 win over Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the rest of the seemingly unbeatable Patriots. -13:47