Ex-Bills RB Willis McGahee says he considered suicide after last NFL season - “It gets mentally tough”

For Willis McGahee, life in the NFL had many highs and lows. The former running back had a respectable career at the start of the century, playing for four different teams and making the Pro Bowl twice in an 11-year stay in the league.

But moving on from the NFL after so many years can often be a problem. And the former running back learned this the hard way. Speaking to The Athletic, Willis McGahee confessed that, after his NFL career was over, he contemplated taking his life multiple times:

“When it’s gone, you really have nothing to fall back on. It’s just a lot coming at you, man, and it gets mentally tough.

“It crossed my mind a couple of times. It’s just a lot going on. And me being the athlete that I am, I just try to suck it up. But I’m tired of sucking it up because it’s killing me inside.”

Willis McGahee's career: where did the former NFL running back play?

He's from a time when running backs had much more value in the NFL. As such, the former Miami Hurricanes running back, part of that incredible team from the start of the decade, was a first-round pick in 2003 by the Buffalo Bills.

He spent his first four years there before moving to the Baltimore Ravens after a trade. He lived his best years there, making the Pro Bowl in 2007 and establishing himself as a free agent. When the Ravens drafted Ray Rice, he was moved to the backup role, but still managed to see playtime.

His next team was the Denver Broncos, where he split his role with Knowshon Moreno for two years. Playing alongside Tim Tebow, he made the playoffs in 2011 and got to the second Pro Bowl of his career. He also played the 2012 season there before closing his career with the Cleveland Browns in 2013.

Willis McGahee finished his career with 8,474 rushing yards, 65 touchdowns through the ground and 5 through the air, but injuries derailed his progress to become a bigger star.