MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Fourteen years ago, Larry Chester was a bruising defensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins.
He was a 300-pound strongman who knew how to hold his ground.
Today, Chester is a man searching for answers. He says seven seasons in the NFL left him in chronic pain.
“I was eating opioids, in some search of relief and I was not finding it,” Chester tells CBS4’s Jim Berry.
Even worse, Chester says was his depression. For two years after retirement, the former defensive tackle says he became a belligerent shut-in.
“I lashed out on my children unnecessarily, lashed out on my wife, I even lashed out at people at the grocery store,” said Chester.