O.J. Murdock, who signed on with the NFL's Tennessee Titans last year, committed suicide early Monday morning in front of the Tampa, Florida, high school where he was a track and football star. Having never played a game in the league due to an achilles injury, Murdock signed on as an undrafted player a year ago. "In his brief time here, a number of our players, coaches and staff had grown close to O.J., and this is a difficult time for them," the Titans said in a statement. "He spent the last year battling back from injury as he prepared for this year's training camp."
Titans head coach Mike Munchak, in his daily briefing with reporters Saturday, was asked why Murdock, a wide receiver, had not reported to training camp. "He had some personal things come up," Munchak said. "He called us, and we're hoping to see him tonight." Although O.J. was placed on the "did not report" list, he was still on the roster to play. A Tampa police officer found Murdock "in his car in front of Middleton High School with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound" at 8:30 a.m. He died two hours later at Tampa General Hospital.
