Braden Smith has been fighting demons well beyond the football field. The Colts’ right tackle revealed that his obsessive compulsive disorder, combined with religious scrupulosity, forced him to have suicidal thoughts.

The Indianapolis Colts didn't offer many specific details when they placed offensive tackle Braden Smith on the reserve/non-football illness list near the end of last season because of a "personal matter," but he opened up about the reality he was facing in an interview with Joel A. Erickson of the Indianapolis Star that was published Tuesday.

The “personal issues’’ that kept Bradon Smith away from the Indianapolis Colts last season flowed deep and took him to a foreboding place. The veteran right tackle and devoted