Anthony Fitzgerald "Tony" Elliott (born January 10, 1964) is a former

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

. He was a member of 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 club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

during the

1987 NFL season The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. This season featured games predominantly played by replacement players, as the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) players were on strike ...

. Tony was a star player at Central Michigan University and was being scouted by multiple professional teams including the Dallas Cowboys. Tony had every reason to look forward to a successful professional career, and his only dream was to make enough money to buy his mother a new house, outside of Detroit. Unfortunately, during the spring scrimmage of his senior year, Tony went down on the field. He had not been hit and his friends in the stands were confused when he was driven off the field and to the locker room. Tony's

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

had snapped, and he was taken to Central Michigan Community Hospital for surgery that night. This was a career-altering injury as he was unable to regain his speed and was not drafted. During the NFL player strike of 1987, Tony was able to sign on with the Green Bay Packers, but then suffered a knee injury.

References

Players of American football from Detroit Green Bay Packers players American football defensive backs Central Michigan Chippewas football players 1964 births Living people {{defensiveback-1960s-stub