NEW YORK -- Jets backup quarterback Erik Ainge said Tuesday he is recovering from a lengthy battle with substance abuse that has derailed his NFL career.
Ainge, 24, told ESPNNewYork.com in a candid first-person account that he is also dealing with bipolar disorder.
Ainge said he "was a really bad drug addict" and "would've made Charlie Sheen look like Miss Daisy." He added that he overdosed "several" times and abused prescription medications, cocaine, heroin, marijuana and alcohol.
Ainge said he has been clean since entering rehabilitation this past 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.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press