By Katy Korstange, Guest Writer

Former Bengals running back, Rudi Johnson, died by suicide, possibly linked to complications from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), on Sept. 23, 2025

Johnson began his career at Auburn University in 2000 and was named SEC player of the year. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft, marking the start of his eight-year NFL career. 

He saw little playing time in his first two seasons as he backed up four-time Pro Bowler RB Corey Dillon. When Dillon was traded to the New England Patriots after the 2003 season, Johnson became a starter.

Johnson soon became a fan favorite. In 2004, he made his first and only Pro Bowl appearance. Then, in 2005, he set the Bengals’ single-season rushing record with 1,458 yards.

After a few hamstring injuries in 2007, Johnson was released by the Bengals. He then played 14 games for the Detroit Lions, marking his last NFL campaign. Johnson retired with 49 touchdowns and 5,979 rushing yards.

Since the death of Junior Seau in 2012 was discovered to have a connection to CTE, the deaths of several professional football players have been connected to it. 

CTE is a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries.

“Repeated head injuries cause neurons to die off and the brain to lose mass. (CTE happens when) the trauma of the sport has caused the neurons in the brain to become damaged in an irreparable way, and then they start to die off,” functional neuroscience professor Dr. Nancy Matre said. “And, when they die off, their function dies with them.”

When the neurons start to die off, they can impair various functions of the brain, leading to the following symptoms: memory loss, confusion, impaired judgement, aggression, depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts or ideations. A major concern with CTE is that it is difficult to diagnose.

“As a clinician, all you can do is say ‘I see these symptoms, and this is probably what it is,’ but its autopsy, where the brain tissue is actually examined microscopically, where these inclusions are found,” Matre explained. 

According to his family, Johnson showed some early signs of CTE after his retirement, however, since CTE is very difficult to diagnose without an autopsy, clinicians were not able to confirm the diagnosis.

Matre believes it is important for Xavier students to be aware of CTE because they need to understand the risks associated with activities that involve head trauma and make more informed decisions about participation in contact sports and other potentially harmful activities.

“I think young people just don’t think about future health problems. I think it’s important to take precautions now because you never know what can happen in the future,” Matre said.

As the NFL and other professional sports leagues work on refining their safety precautions, CTE and its side effects will remain a relevant conversation. Even talking about mental health and reducing its stigma is important because it is something that everyone deals with, no matter how physically fit they are.

“The brain is an organ like the heart and like the kidneys. It can be diseased, and it can be off, and we need to treat it that way,” Matre says.

The tragic death of Rudi Johnson is something to learn from as it is imperative to keep talking about ways to make professional sports safer and as experts work on ways to diagnose and treat people with CTE before their symptoms take their life, like in Johnson’s case.