Keion Carpenter, a safety who played for the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills, died early Thursday at the age of 39, a day after he struck his head in what a family member said was a “freak accident” while on a vacation. Former Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer released a statement mourning Carpenter's death. It read in part: "Keion was one of the rocks around which we built our program at Virginia Tech in the 1990s. He was a tenacious punt blocker and a relentless player on defense. More importantly, he had a heart of gold.