Tennessee Titans Vince Young Talked of Suicide

If one did not know any better, it would have appeared as if the Tennessee Titans were well on their way to becoming a big surprise team of the 2008 NFL season. And in fact, they still could be.....but not without a very delicate situation developing around the franchise quarterback, Vince Young.

Tennessee's suffocating defense was too much for the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, a team that was among the favorites to advance deep into the Playoffs. The Tennessee Titans' defense helped carry them into the playoffs last season. If they keep playing like this, it might be enough to carry them even further.

Vince Young had a rough day; he was intercepted twice and threw for 110 yards. His second pick came a play after Finnegan's second interception. Fans booed heavily as he was slow to head back onto the field late in the fourth quarter. Young sprained his left knee a couple plays later and had a pair of crutches at his locker after the game.

The day only got rougher for Young. He disappeared before the game was over.

The Tennessee Titans called police for help searching for Vince Young because his therapist told coach Jeff Fisher the quarterback mentioned suicide several times before driving away from his home with a gun, ESPN reported on Saturday.

Both Fisher and Young have said what happened Monday night was overblown by the media. But the supplemental report filed Tuesday by Nashville police showed that Fisher was worried what his quarterback might be doing after the call from Young's therapist.

"I asked him, 'What made her worry about him?' " Lt. Andrea Swisher wrote. "He stated, 'His mood, his emotions, he wants to quit, and he mentioned suicide several times.' He went on to state that he left the house with a gun."

The Titans declined to comment on details of the report. On Tuesday, the team issued a statement saying police had been called over concern for Young but those concerns were unfounded.

"Last night, we received a call from people that are closest to Vince informing us that he had left his house in a state of mind that had them concerned; and that he was unreachable, having left his cell phone at the house," it said. "Not having all the facts available to us and approaching the matter prudently, we contacted Metro Police to make them aware of the situation and asked for their assistance in locating Vince. He was located at a friend's house, where we made contact with him. He then came to the practice facility where it was determined that those initial concerns by his friends and family were unfounded and he returned home without incident."

ESPN obtained a copy of the report.

Young's agent, Major Adams, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Young had been watching football and eating chicken wings with a male friend during the four hours people were searching for the quarterback.

ESPN obtained a copy of the police report, which detailed how police arranged for crisis negotiators and SWAT officers to be on hand. They searched Young for weapons when he arrived at the Titans' headquarters around 11:30 p.m. They only found an unloaded handgun in the glovebox of his Mercedes.

Tennessee law allows an individual to possess an unloaded weapon provided there is no ammunition with it in the car.

"He was allowed to talk to his therapist and then he was released," the police report stated.

This weekend's starting quarterback, Kerry Collins, might be the perfect medicine for Young. His locker is right next to Young's. Collins knows all too well about struggling young quarterbacks trying to fight their demons.

Collins, who was drafted by the Panthers in 1995 and took them to the NFC Championship Game a year later, said alcohol was the root of his problems in Charlotte.

"Alcohol caused me to act in an erratic way and there were certain personal issues, some family issues that I needed to address," he said. "As everybody saw in those years, the confusion, the angst, the anger that I was experiencing at that time, came to the fore. Alcohol fueled it. I was described as a lost soul at one time and I definitely think that was the case."

Asked if he had shared his story with Young, Collins said: "I have not. But certainly I would be a good resource for him. I was a young guy who played a lot, had success early and did some things that, looking back probably weren't the right things to do. But I learned from it. I think that's the most important thing, as is it in life: You make mistakes, you learn from it and you move on."

Adversity in this case may actually bring the Titans closer together. It will be interesting to see how Tennessee performs during Week 2 after their crushing defeat of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Collins also has developed into an important team leader.

Cincinnati in this game was a -1 favorite, but that is insignificant since most of the odds makers have led the gambling public to believe this is an even matchup. The gamblers agree and there is in fact well balanced action on this game. (See betting odds here)

Gambling911.com has the line a pick as well with a slight edge towards Tennessee. And because of this scenario, we don't see a whole lot of books moving the line beyond the Titans -1. The highest we have seen the line is -1 ½ in favor of Cincinnati.