NEW YORK (AP) – Jets backup quarterback Erik Ainge says he is recovering from a lengthy battle with substance abuse that has derailed his NFL career.
Ainge, 24, tells ESPNNewYork.com on Tuesday in a candid first-person account that he is also dealing with bipolar disorder.
Ainge says he “was a really bad drug addict” and “would’ve made Charlie Sheen look like Miss Daisy.” He adds that he overdosed “several” times and abused prescription medications, cocaine, heroin, marijuana and alcohol.
Ainge says he has been clean since entering rehabilitation last July, his longest stint of sobriety since he was 11. A fifth-round draft pick in 2008 out of Tennessee, Ainge missed all of last season. His future with the Jets is uncertain.
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