Seau’s plight worries NFL peers

Junior Seau's suicide is troubling NFL players.

No one knows why the 43-year-old Seau shot himself in the chest at his oceanfront home May 2, less than 2½ years after the end of his Pro Bowl career as a linebacker. What is clear - and cause for concern among other players - is that he reached serious depths of despair.

"To see a guy like that, in such a dark place, to take the action he did ... makes you think about life after football and what it's like, and what you'll be going through, when that time comes, mentally," said Colts linebacker A.J. Edds, who is entering his second NFL season. "This might have been what people needed to open their eyes a little bit about what might happen down the road. How do you go forward to prevent it? Hopefully some good can be found from a horrible situation. Hopefully that's one silver lining - that it might help other guys keep from getting to a place like that."

In 40 interviews with The Associated Press during the past two weeks, many players voiced growing worry about the physical and emotional toll professional football takes. Seau's suicide resonated among the 13 rookies, 17 active veterans and 10 retirees, with more than half of each group saying it pushed them to consider their future in the sport or the difficulties of adjusting to post-NFL life.

It's one thing to read about hundreds of guys they've never heard of suing the league because of neurological problems traced to a career long ago. It's another to find out about Seau, a charismatic, recent star for the Chargers, Dolphins and Patriots who played in the Super Bowl.

"The difference with Junior for many folks my age or younger is that I played against Junior a bunch. He was a peer. It's more impactful. Not to suggest I had a great friendship with Junior or knew him off the field. I didn't. It's simply closer to home for me than a guy who played in the '70s or '80s," said Pete Kendall, a starting offensive lineman from 1996 to 2008 for the Seahawks, Cardinals, Jets and Redskins. "All of those kinds of situations are horrible, but Junior's situation probably would have people re-examining things."

Even less-experienced NFL players in their mid-20s were forced to face complicated questions in recent weeks.

"You can't avoid thinking about how the game might be affecting your future," Packers tight end Tom Crabtree, who has played two seasons in the league, wrote in an email. "Even something as small as forgetting where I put my keys. I know everyone does that from time to time, but am I forgetful because of football? Have I already done damage to my brain playing the game?

"When you see a guy we all assume to be so happy and successful take his own life, it's disturbing."