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Donte' Stallworth discusses hot air balloon accident

The strangest story of the offseason involves free-agent wide receiver Donte' Stallworth, who -- along with a girlfriend -- suffered severe burns when a hot air balloon in which they were riding struck power lines in Florida.

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Two weeks after the harrowing incident, Stallworth described the day's events.

"In that moment, I thought my eyes would close and I'd never wake up again," Stallworth told sports publicist Rebkah Howard, who wrote a story on Stallworth's account for FoxSports.com.

We recommend you read the piece for all of the insane details. It sounds like the whole situation easily was avoidable, and we imagine there will be plenty of time to discuss that during the inevitable litigation to follow.

Stallworth recalled chuckling out loud on the scene, an action that puzzled the paramedics working on him.

"I've played professional football for 10 years, and I've never been carted off the football field," Stallworth recalled telling the paramedics. "Now, after a couple hours in a hot air balloon, I'm getting airlifted off a farm."

Stallworth, who spent last season with the New England Patriots, hopes to resume workouts in the next month. We assume his traveling-by-balloon days are numbered.

Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.