A man who briefly played professional football with the Denver Broncos died of cardiac arrest while running in his neighborhood.
The heart of Paul Duncan, 35, stopped beating while jogging near his Georgia home June 15, according to an Instagram story posted by his wife, Ellen. The following day Mr. Duncan was pronounced brain dead, his wife said.
“We will have a medical examination to understand the cause of death,” Ms. Duncan added. “His body will be donated to people in need of organs and to medical research.”
The former football player’s wife described telling their two daughters about their father’s death. Their daughter, Dillon asked to listen to the song her father had just added to the morning playlist.
“I didn’t know what she meant so I looked on our Amazon music app and she pointed to ‘I Can Only Imagine,’ by Mercyme,” Ms. Duncan said in a separate Instagram post. “Paul definitely danced meeting Jesus.” She referred to the hit gospel song released by the band in 1999.
“Thank you for the ongoing love and support.”
Duncan played as an offensive lineman for the Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and then was added to the Denver Broncos roster as an undrafted free agent where he played during one season in 2010.
“Our prayers go out to the family and friends of Paul Duncan,” commented the Notre Dame football team on its Twitter account. “A great teammate, but more importantly a loving husband and father.”
Mr. Duncan is survived by his wife, Ellen and their two daughters.
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