The Tampa Bay Buccaneers held high hopes for guard Arron Sears when they drafted him out of Tennessee in the second round of the NFL draft. Instead, he lasted just two years in the league before leaving football due to neurological symptoms. Now, his family claims, the 27-year-old Sears can no longer care for himself and is a danger to himself and others due to uncontrollable rage.


That's according to a lawsuit filed by Sears' family and two other former Bucs in Hillsborough Circuit Court this week. The Tampa Bay Times reports the Sears family alongside Jimmie Giles and Donald Smith allege the Buccaneers, the NFL, and helmet maker Riddell negligently withheld information about the dangers of concussions and their impact on players.

It's the latest of now 93 concussion-related lawsuits filed against the NFL by former players, though the details in it are especially heartbreaking. The suit claims Sears has been "repeatedly been taken into protective custody by police under the Baker Act" and that being unable to care for himself is under the legal guardianship of his parents.


The Buccaneers officially released Sears in 2010. The other claimants are former Bucs stars of the 1980's.

[Tampa Bay Times]