Also in 1992, Jets defensive lineman Dennis Byrd was paralyzed. I believe he collided head first with the opposite defensive end while both were diving to sack the quarterback.Ryan Shazier suffered a significant neck injury but is rehabbing and will be able to live a normal life. The only players I can think of who were paralyzed are Mike Utley and Darryl Stingley. Utley was a Lions guard who was injured in a freak play in 1991; Stingley's misfortune is much better known from when Jack Tatum launched into him in a 1978 preseason game, back when d-backs were allowed to be missiles and Tatum was as badass as any of them. So that's two very serious injuries in the past 40 years that I can recall, none since '91. But the last rites ritual still takes place multiple times every Sunday. This video of an old Sports Center shows Utley's injury beginning at 4:08 followed by a brief clip of Stingley's: