Allen Aldridge, a former NFL star who won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, has died at 52 years old.
The cause of death has not yet been disclosed.Â
Aldridge spent eight seasons in the NFL, four with the Broncos, where he played middle linebacker during Denver’s 1997 Super Bowl-winning season, and four with the Detroit Lions.Â
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He has been serving as head coach for Fort Bend Bush High School in Richmond, Texas, since 2008.Â
Before breaking into the NFL, Aldridge played for his hometown Houston Cougars in college. The team released a statement on Aldridge via social media.Â
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“Houston Football mourns the loss of decorated Cougar and former NFL standout Allen Aldridge,” the statement read on X. “Our thoughts are with his family, former teammates and the Fort Bend Bush High School community.”
The Broncos also released a statement on the matter, saying, “We’re saddened to learn of the passing of former Broncos LB and Super Bowl XXXII champion Allen Aldridge Jr.”
One of Aldridge’s former Cougars teammates, Ted Pardee, told the Houston Chronicle that “he was not just some freshman” when he arrived on campus. The team knew he was destined for greatness at the highest level.Â
“The day he arrived at UH, everybody knew he was different,” Pardee said. “…The key was how to get him on the field as quickly as possible because he was such a gifted talent.”
Aldridge got a chance to show the NFL world how good he was when the Broncos took him in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft. While he didn’t get much play his rookie season, Aldridge had a breakout year in 1995 when he had 89 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks and one fumble recovery over 16 games (12 starts).Â
That season led the Broncos to keep Aldridge in the middle of the defense at linebacker as a true starter the following season, and he would eventually play a vital role in the team’s Super Bowl run the year after that.Â
In the AFC championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the ’97 campaign, Aldridge picked off Kordell Stewart in the end zone to help the team to victory. The Broncos would eventually defeat the Green Bay Packers to win Super Bowl XXXII.
Aldridge moved on to the Lions for the 1998 season, where he had 70 tackles, three sacks, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and nine tackles for loss in his debut campaign with them. He lasted three more seasons before his final year in 2001.Â
For his career, Aldridge totaled 10.5 sacks, 482 combined tackles, one interception, five forced fumbles and 18 tackles for loss over 128 games.Â
As a high school coach, the Houston Chronicle notes his squad making the playoffs eight times, including a run in 2012 with a 10-2 record that remains the best mark in the program’s history.Â
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