Girlfriend of Cardinals' Jeff Gladney also died in wreck

The NFL community was shocked and saddened to learn that Arizona Cardinals cornerback Jeff Gladney was killed in an accident in Dallas early on Monday morning. 

According to Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Tuesday that 26-year-old Andrea Mercedes Palacios, Gladney's girlfriend, also died in the wreck. 

Gladney was 25. 

As ESPN's Josh Weinfuss explained, Gladney and Palacios were traveling in a speeding white vehicle that clipped a second vehicle and hit a beam on Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Dallas. Two people in the second vehicle were not injured. 

Gladney initially entered the NFL when the Minnesota Vikings selected him in the first round of the 2020 draft, but Minnesota released him last August after he was indicted on a felony domestic violence charge. He didn't play for any team during the 2021 season but was found not guilty of assault in March. A week after the result of his case was known, he signed with the Cardinals, and it was assumed Arizona was going to give him an opportunity to start. 

Gladney recorded 81 total tackles, a forced fumble, and three pass breakups in his only NFL campaign with Minnesota.