Scott Mersereau

Scott Robert Mersereau (born April 8, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive lineman for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Southern Connecticut Owls. He played for the Jets for seven seasons, beginning in 1987. He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round of the 1987 NFL draft.

Mersereau is most known for a collision with teammate, the late Dennis Byrd, in which Byrd was paralyzed from a neck injury during an NFL game against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 29, 1992. During the play, Byrd rushed in an attempt to sack Chiefs quarterback Dave Krieg, but Krieg stepped up to avoid the tackle, and Byrd collided with Mersereau. Byrd ducked his head at the last moment before he collided with Mersereau's chest. The head-first collision resulted in a broken C-5 vertebra that left Byrd paralyzed. Byrd later recovered, but didn't play football again. Byrd died in October, 2016, in a traffic-related accident.

Mersereau initially thought he only had a sprained ankle, and played through the remainder of the 1992 season and all of the 1993 season. However, he required regular painkiller injections through the 1993 season due to severe back pain, and was released by the Jets after that season. When he tried to sign on with the Green Bay Packers, he failed the team physical, with the team doctor telling him he had three cracked vertebrae in his lower back. Mersereau believes he suffered his back injury in the collision with Byrd.