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Brad William Henke, who played for the Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV and then found greater fame as an actor, has died at the age of 56.
Henke had been open about his health struggles, posting on social media that he had been diagnosed with a 90 percent blockage in an artery, had received stents in his heart, and had a golf ball-sized tumor removed from his pancreas. Henke died peacefully in his home.
After starring as a defensive end at Arizona, the 6-foot-3, 275-pound Henke was selected by the Giants in the fourth round of the 1989 NFL draft. He didn’t make the Giants’ roster, but the Broncos picked him up that year and he played in all three postseason games for them that season, including the Broncos’ Super Bowl loss to the 49ers.
Ankle injuries derailed Henke’s football career, but he then had a long career in acting, appearing in dozens of TV shows and movies. He shared in a Screen Actors Guild Award with his fellow cast members on Orange is the New Black, where he played a prison guard.