Gregory Jay Clark (April 7, 1972 – July 7, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 1997 NFL draft.

Career

A 6'5", 255-lb.

from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, Clark played in 5

seasons and his entire career with the 49ers from 1997 to 2001. He was widely recognized as one of the premier blocking tight ends in the NFL. Clark was recruited to Stanford University as a receiving tight end by Bill Walsh after being named a consensus First-team All-American from Ricks College. While at Stanford, Clark credited much of his development as a blocker to his coach Pat Morris. He received both athletic and academic honors while in college. He finished his professional career with 92 receptions, 909 yards receiving, and 4 touchdowns during the regular season. In addition, he caught two touchdowns in the 1998-99 playoff game against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

prior to Terrell Owens's last second catch from Steve Young to defeat the Packers. Clark was named to the 1999 USA Today All-Joe Team. Injuries forced him into early retirement, in 2001.

Death

Clark died from a self inflicted gunshot on July 7, 2021. He had experienced " chronic traumatic encephalopathy-like" symptoms prior to his suicide, later revealed in March 2022 to be CTE Stage III. He was one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with this disease, which is caused by repeated hits to the head.

References

1972 births 2021 deaths 2021 suicides People from Centerville, Utah Players of American football from Davis County, Utah Place of death missing American football tight ends Stanford Cardinal football players San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football with chronic traumatic encephalopathy Suicides by firearm in California {{tightend-1970s-stub 20th-century American sportsmen