Tyrann Mathieu knows how it feels to watch a promising football career slipping through your fingers.
The Arizona Cardinals safety succeeded in moving past the off-the-field troubles that marked his college days at LSU, crafting a new narrative as one of the best young defensive players in the NFC as a rookie last season.
In a Tuesday interview with NFL Media's Amber Theoharis and Shaun O'Hara at Nike The Opening, Mathieu was asked what he'd say to troubled Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was arrested on suspicion of DWI this weekend in North Carolina.
"Well, me having been through it, and having a little bit of experience with that, I don't think anybody in the world can possibly tell him anything," Mathieu said Tuesday on NFL Total Access. "No one could tell me anything when I was going through it. I had to figure that out for myself.
"Hopefully, he will get the point. Hopefully, he will get the message. But, most of the time it takes people to hit rock bottom for them to start believing in themselves, and start seeking help. A lot of people could reach out to you, but that doesn't mean you always take that help, take that advice. He just has to want it for himself. ... I'm still young myself, I don't know too much about it. I do know that it takes a lot to look in that mirror and fix yourself."
Mathieu revealed last month that he pondered suicide after a 2012 police search of his home led to an arrest for marijuana possession. The arrest came after Mathieu had been kicked off LSU's football team for failed drug tests. It was his rock bottom.
One can only hope Gordon's arrest acts as his moment of clarity.
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