Colts’ Braden Smith Opens Up on Psychological Well being Struggles That Sidelined Him in 2024
April 9, 2025 – Indianapolis, IN – Indianapolis Colts proper sort out Braden Smith has damaged his silence on the non-public disaster that pressured him to overlook the ultimate 5 video games of the 2024 NFL season, revealing a harrowing battle with obsessive-compulsive dysfunction (OCD) that pushed him to the brink of suicide. In an unique interview with The Indianapolis Star revealed Tuesday, the 29-year-old offensive lineman detailed how a extreme type of OCD, often called non secular scrupulosity, consumed his life, leaving him indifferent from soccer, household, and even his new child son.
Smith, a seven-year veteran and cornerstone of Indy’s elite offensive line, began all 12 video games he performed in 2024 earlier than his abrupt exit following a November 24 loss to the Detroit Lions. Initially listed as out for “private causes,” he was positioned on the reserve/non-football sickness checklist on December 14, with the Colts providing scant particulars past their assist for his well-being. Now, alongside his spouse Courtney, Smith has shared the depths of his wrestle: “I used to be bodily current, however I used to be nowhere to be discovered,” he informed The Star. “I didn’t care about taking part in soccer. I didn’t care about hanging out with my spouse, with my new child son… I felt like I used to be a month away from placing a bullet by my mind.”
Identified with OCD in March 2024, Smith’s situation morphed right into a relentless cycle of obsessive ideas about offending God, driving compulsive behaviors like fixed prayer and repentance. By November, his psychological state deteriorated to the purpose the place Courtney modified the mixture to their gun protected and hesitated to go away him alone with their 10-month-old son, Wyatt. After preliminary remedy and drugs failed, Smith spent 48 days in a Colorado psychological well being facility, assembly different NFL gamers grappling with comparable demons. When progress stalled, he sought a radical answer: ibogaine, a psychedelic drug unlawful within the U.S., administered throughout a visit to Mexico. “That’s what saved me,” Smith mentioned, crediting it with breaking OCD’s grip, alongside ongoing remedy.
The Colts stood by Smith all through, paying him regardless of no obligation and restructuring his $16.75 million 2025 wage to $8 million with $3 million in incentives—a transfer reflecting mutual belief. “Braden’s again, and he’s in an ideal spot,” GM Chris Ballard mentioned final week, praising the previous Auburn star’s resilience. Smith, who has began 92 of 94 profession video games since his 2018 second-round choice, now goals to reclaim his pleasure on the sphere. “I nonetheless have OCD, however it doesn’t dictate my life,” he affirmed.
His story has resonated throughout the NFL, amplifying the league’s “Kicking the Stigma” psychological well being initiative. Posts on X laud Smith’s braveness, with followers and analysts noting how his openness might encourage others. Because the Colts gear up for 2025, Smith’s return isn’t only a roster increase—it’s a testomony to survival, turning a silent wrestle right into a loud name for consciousness in a sport typically outlined by toughness.
