India, Sept. 23 -- Rudi Johnson, a former running back for the Cincinnati Bengals, died by suicide at the age of 45, police told TMZ Sports.

The former NFL player passed away this week. According to people close to him, he had been struggling with mental health issues and may have been coping with the symptoms of CTE that he "could not overcome."

Johnson started slowly after being selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He didn't play much in his first two seasons with the Bengals.

However, Johnson really took off in Year 3 as he ran for 957 yards and nine touchdowns at the age of 24. With more than 4,000 running yards and 36 touchdowns over the course of the following three seasons, he became one ...