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Ex-Bill Covington's demise followed death of his NFL dream
By JERRY SULLIVAN
Buffalo News
12/8/2002
It's easy to remember the great ones. We honor them at halftime, put their names on the Wall of Fame, cheer them when they come back through the tunnel. We watch them move into coaching or business or the broadcast booth.
Others simply fade away, like an autumn mist. After awhile, it's as if they never existed. You strain to recall their names, their faces, what number they wore. Was it a trade that took them away? A lack of talent? An injury?
Do you remember Damien Covington? He moved through here so quickly, we barely knew him. He was an undersized linebacker for the Bills from 1995-97, a tough, likable guy who had just begun to arrive as an NFL player when he suffered a career-ending knee injury.
Ruben Brown, Covington and Darick Holmes were all products of the 1995 draft. They hung out together as rookies, talked about their dreams, about doing big things and making big money.
"We talked about that a lot," Brown said, "about how good we wanted to be in this league, and what we wanted to establish for ourselves. We were going to be the three guys who were around here for awhile, like Thurman (Thomas), Bruce (Smith) and Andre (Reed). Damien just knew he was going to make it."
But the odds are against it in this cold, capricious sport. Brown made it big. He became a millionaire, a perennial Pro Bowler. Holmes had his moments, but got traded and soon faded from the game. He's running a restaurant in Indiana....MORE...
By JERRY SULLIVAN
Buffalo News
12/8/2002
It's easy to remember the great ones. We honor them at halftime, put their names on the Wall of Fame, cheer them when they come back through the tunnel. We watch them move into coaching or business or the broadcast booth.
Others simply fade away, like an autumn mist. After awhile, it's as if they never existed. You strain to recall their names, their faces, what number they wore. Was it a trade that took them away? A lack of talent? An injury?
Do you remember Damien Covington? He moved through here so quickly, we barely knew him. He was an undersized linebacker for the Bills from 1995-97, a tough, likable guy who had just begun to arrive as an NFL player when he suffered a career-ending knee injury.
Ruben Brown, Covington and Darick Holmes were all products of the 1995 draft. They hung out together as rookies, talked about their dreams, about doing big things and making big money.
"We talked about that a lot," Brown said, "about how good we wanted to be in this league, and what we wanted to establish for ourselves. We were going to be the three guys who were around here for awhile, like Thurman (Thomas), Bruce (Smith) and Andre (Reed). Damien just knew he was going to make it."
But the odds are against it in this cold, capricious sport. Brown made it big. He became a millionaire, a perennial Pro Bowler. Holmes had his moments, but got traded and soon faded from the game. He's running a restaurant in Indiana....MORE...
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