How Henry Ruggs and other NFL stars have had football careers cut short by drug addiction, murder and other tragedies
Samuel Coleman
Published Sep 28, 2026
HENRY Ruggs III is not the first emerging NFL star to squander his football career for making poor choices or breaking the law off the field.
The 22-year-old rising star was allegedly driving more than twice over the legal limit when he plowed his Chevrolet Corvette into the back of an SUV in Las Vegas on November 2, killing 23-year-old Tina Tintor.
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Ruggs had reportedly reached speeds of up to 156 mph before the fatal impact.
Tintor, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene after her car burst into a ball of flames. Ruggs and his girlfriend, Rudy Washington, were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Just hours later, the Raiders announced they were releasing Ruggs from the team in a statement on Twitter that said, “The Las Vegas Raiders have released WR Henry Ruggs III.”
Ruggs was supposed to be a cornerstone for the Raiders.
He was picked 12th overall in the 2020 draft after three years at Alabama, including helping the Crimson Tide win the NCAA championship as a freshman in 2017.
He was emerging as a star this season with 24 catches for a team-high 469 yards and two touchdowns.
But now, the wide receiver is facing upwards of 20 years in prison if found guilty, meaning he may never take to the field of play again.
Throughout the years, a number of similar unfortunate scenarios have played out in the NFL, with athletes of a Hall of Fame-caliber throwing away their chances at glory in moments of madness, both figuratively and literally.
Comprised below is a list of five former NFL players who notoriously sabotaged their own careers:
RAE CARRUTH
Rae Carruth entered the NFL in 1997 as a first-round pick for the Carolina Panthers.
Quickly gaining a reputation for his blistering speed, the rookie wide receiver managed an impressive four touchdowns and caught 44 passes in his first season, earning a spot on the NFL'S All-Rookie team for that year.
Carruth missed much of the following season through injury, but it was that year where he met Cherica Adams at a pool party in June 1998.
The pair endured an on-again, off-again relationship over the next few months, an arrangement he described as purely physical.
She fell pregnant in April of the following year and Carruth, who was already paying child support to a different woman in Sacramento, pleaded with her to have an abortion.
Adams refused, reportedly keen to have a child of her own and still regretful of an abortion she'd had years earlier.
Then on November 16, 1999, Adams was shot four times in the stomach with a .357 caliber revolver near Carruth's home in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Adams managed to call 911, informing the operator that Carruth had stopped his vehicle in front of hers and that another car had driver alongside her before its passenger opened fire.
She was taken to hospital where she fell into a coma soon after. Doctors successfully delivered her child, a baby boy, by emergency cesarean section.
The baby, named Chancellor Lee Adams, survived, but suffered permanent brain damage and cerebral palsy as a result of being without oxygen for 70 minutes after his birth. Earlier this year he graduated high school at the age of 21.
Adams, meanwhile, tragically died on December 14, 1999.
Investigators later determined that Carruth had hired Van Brett Watkins Sr., a nightclub bouncer and hardened criminal, to murder Adams while he watched.
Carruth was captured by police the day after her death. The Panthers waived him on December 16 and the NFL suspended him indefinitely the following day.
Carruth was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and using an instrument to destroy an unborn child.
He was found not guilty of first-degree murder and was spared the death penalty.
He was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison and was released from prison in October 2018.
AARON HERNANDEZ
Aaron Hernandez was a tight end for the New England Patriots for three seasons before his career came to an abrupt end when he was charged and convicted of murder.
An All-American athlete in Florida, Hernandez was was selected by the Patriots in the fourth round of the 2010 Draft and even appeared in Super Bowl XLVI.
Hernandez had a number of run-ins with police prior to his arrest, including assaults, traffic violations, and was even probed into relation to a double homicide and attempted murder.
However, Hernandez's woes came to a head in June 2013, when police searched his home in connection with an investigation into the shooting death of his friend, Odin Lloyd, whose body was found in an industrial park a short distance from his house.
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While Hernandez assured Patriots coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft that he had nothing to do with Lloyd's death, Hernandez was banned from the Gillette Stadium and eventually ousted from the team.
He was arrested on June 26, 2013, and charged with first-degree murder and a number of weapons charges.
He pleaded not guilty at trial but was ultimately sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of parole.
The motive for the killing was never determined, but it's believed Lloyd may have learned of Hernandez's bisexuality and was worried he may out him to others.
On April 19, 2017, Hernandez was found hanging in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, with a bedsheet noose tied around his neck.
Investigators reported finding three handwritten notes next to a Bible opened to John 3:16, with "John 3:16" also written in red ink on his forehead.
RAY RICE
The off-field controversies of Ray Rice prompted the NFL to introduce a new domestic violence policy that remains in place today.
The Baltimore Ravens running back had been heavily drinking at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 15, 2014, when he got into an argument with his then-fiancee - and now-wife - Janay Palmer.
Rice followed Palmer into an elevator after she got up from the table they'd been seated. The pair continued to shout obscenities at one another as they stepped inside.
Sickening surveillance footage showed Rice spit in Palmer's face before striking her as the elevator doors closed.
Palmer was immediately knocked unconscious, striking her face against a handrail as she fell to the ground.
Rice appeared completely unfazed as his partner lay unconscious on the floor.
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He then dragged her out of the elevator when the doors re-opened when security at the casino intervened.
Rice was arrested and charged with assault. He was initially banned by the NFL for just two games.
On March 27, 2014, a grand jury indicted Rice on third-degree aggravated assault, with a possible jail sentence of three to five years and a fine of up to $15,000. The charges were later dropped after Rice agreed to undergo court-supervised counseling.
After a longer video of the incident was released by AP in the September of the same year, Rice was released by the Ravens.
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Shortly after that, an NFL spokesperson announced he had been indefinitely suspended from the League.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell later announced longer suspensions and harsher punishments for future domestic violence incidents and admitted that he "didn't get it right" with Rice initially.
Rice later filed a formal grievance against the NFL for wrongful termination, demanding $3.5 million.
The Ravens settled the claim for an undisclosed amount, but it's believed Rice received most of his claim.
CHAD WHEELER
New York Giants offensive tackle Chad Wheeler also became ensnared in a domestic violence scandal in January of this year.
Wheeler's off-field troubles began when he was in college at USC.
In December 2015, he was shot by police multiple times with beanbag rounds after getting into an altercation with a group of officers.
Wheeler, who was believed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, had earlier been punching walls and windows, injuring his hands inside an apartment near to the USC campus.
A junior at the time, Wheeler ran out of the apartment where he was confronted by police. He confronted the officers and was hit with the non-lethal rounds.
He was detained but not arrested, and instead transported to a local hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
While Wheeler later apologized for the incident, his controversies didn't stop there.
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On January 21, 2021, Wheeler was arrested in Kent, Washington on domestic violence charges. He was charged with three counts of felony domestic violence and later released on $400,000 bail.
He was accused of throwing a woman on a bed, beating and strangling her until she lost consciousness, and later picking a lock on a door to a bathroom where the woman had fled to call 911 after she regained consciousness.
The incident began when Wheeler asked the woman to bow to him, according to a police report.
Chaotic bodycam footage showed police struggling to subdue to the 6-foot-7, 315-pound star.
Wheeler called the incident the result of a "manic episode". He said he had not been taking his medication for bipolar disorder.
The tackle pleaded not guilty to the charges in February but announced he would be temporarily retiring from the NFL to "get his life together" after the incident.
JOHNNY MANZIEL
The winner of the 2012 Heisman Trophy, quarterback Johnny Manziel was one of the most sort-after college talents when he was drafted into the NFL by the Cleveland Browns in 2014.
But his attitude and behavior were already being called into question, with then-Dallas Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer calling him an "arrogant little pr**k."
Known for his party-boy antics, Manziel had been involved in a number of scandals at Texas A&M, including being arrested for fighting and using a fake ID when he was 19, and for selling autographs against school policy.
Still, the Browns decided to take a gamble on Manziel - but the decision turned out to be a complete disaster.
His woes began in pre-season that year when Manziel was fined $12,000 by the team for flipping the bird during a friendly loss to the Washington Redskins.
Three months later, Manziel and his entourage got into a fight with a Cleveland Browns fan in the lobby of a hotel. No charges were filed.
Then in the off-season of 2015, Manziel entered rehab for unspecified reasons. He checked out after 10 weeks.
Months later, Manziel was pulled over by police after fighting in his car with his then-girlfriend, Colleen Crowley. Although no charges were made, Manziel admitted to having had some alcoholic drinks earlier that afternoon.
Manziel was announced as the Browns' starting quarterback a month later, but just seven days after that, found himself demoted to third-string after a video of him partying at a Project X house party surfaced online.
A second video of him parting Las Vegas would emerge just days later following a loss to the Kansas City Cheifs.
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In the January of 2016, Manziel fell subject to a police investigation after he was reported to have assaulted his ex-girlfriend.
Crowley claimed Manziel had forced her into a car, pulled her by the hair, and threatened to kill both her and himself.
Police used a helicopter to search for Manziel and later determined that the quarterback was safe.
The incident proved to be the final straw for the Browns who severed ties with him. He was also dropped by Nike, his marketing agency and his agent.
Manziel's attorney, Bob Hinton, accidentally texted a message to an AP reporter, expressing concern about Manziel's ability to stay clean.
His father told ESPN the same day: "He's a druggie. It's not a secret that he's a druggie. Hopefully, he doesn't die before he comes to his senses.
"I mean, I hate to say it, but I hope he goes to jail. I mean, that would be the best place for him. I'm doing my job, and I'm going to move on. If I have to bury him, I'll bury him."
Manziel was indicted by a grand jury on charges of misdemeanor assault. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors to undergo counseling.
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He never played in the NFL again.
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