Tom Pelissero

USA TODAY Sports

Erin Henderson never thought his alcohol and marijuana use affected his play on the field. In fact, Henderson felt his sixth year with the Minnesota Vikings might have been his best.

But there were signs even before two arrests on DUI and drug charges led to the linebacker's release two months ago that he needed to get his life under control.

"There would be times where I would come to practice hung over," Henderson, 27, told USA TODAY Sports on Tuesday. "Never just fresh off of drinking coming into practice. But I might have had a rough night the night before, and I'd be in front of the huddle calling plays. And everybody would know that I had been out drinking the night before.

"Of course, that affects the ability to go out there and perform and be the best that you can be. But I'd been doing it for so long and it's something that I had gotten used to."

Henderson revealed in a blog post Tuesday on TMZ that he checked into an inpatient rehabilitation facility Jan. 2, hours after getting out of jail following a single-car crash and a second arrest on suspicion of DUI and marijuana possession. The two arrests occurred in roughly a six-week span.

Doctors had recommended rehab in the past, but the second arrest was, he said, "The extra kick in the butt I needed." He left the facility Feb. 1 and transitioned to an outpatient program he attends three days a week.

"I just didn't know what else to do," Henderson said. "I didn't seek the professional help I needed to help me with my mental issues. I thought my athletic gifts would take care of things."

Henderson faces a total of nine charges, including four counts of DUI and two counts of drug possession. He is scheduled for a pretrial hearing May 5 in Carver County (Minn.) Court in the second case.

Undrafted out of Maryland in 2008, Henderson found a home on special teams and eventually got a chance to start for the Vikings, who re-signed him in March 2013 to a two-year contract worth as much as $4.75 million and moved him to middle linebacker.

Despite being benched for two games after the first arrest, Henderson posted career highs in tackles and sacks and corralled his first two NFL interceptions. That productivity, he said, was part of the reason he wanted to finish out the season instead of seeking treatment in November.

"I've learned that substance abuse is often a byproduct of different things," Henderson said. "For me, it was my way of numbing things and not having to worry about a lot of things. That's pretty much what I did.

"When I look back on it, I realize that's not living. That's not life. You're supposed to feel certain things. You're supposed to have emotions. Life is not meant to just be coasted through. But one of the things they tell us a lot in rehab is there's nothing that a drink won't make worse."

Henderson had resisted talk from teammates and coaches for years about finding God. But he felt the second DUI "was a higher power talking to me" and became even more convinced after a visit to the rehab center from Vikings receiver Greg Jennings, who offered his support.

"I can already start to feel my life feeling better, being able to enjoy stuff," said Henderson, who is married with a son who turns 3 on Sunday. "When I'm spending time with my son, really feeling like I'm present. It's not a shell of myself that's playing with him."

The Vikings decided after the second arrest to cut him and finalized the move Feb. 7. But Henderson is convinced he'll get another shot, despite the possibility of NFL discipline in addition to what plays out in court.

He said he felt his career in Minnesota "had run its course" for a variety of reasons and a change of scenery will help, though probably not as much as tackling his demons off the field before trying to tackle opponents on it.

"That's one of the things I'm most curious about — what happens when I can remove a lot of my off-field issues and just play with a clear mind and actually enjoy the game like I used to?" Henderson said.

"I like to call myself a recovering alcoholic. I understand it's an ongoing battle. It's a lifelong thing. Anybody that's dealt with me, anybody in the Vikings organization, know that the things that transpired aren't me. That was a different person that had taken over my body, pretty much.

"For me, it's nothing different than when I came out here to the Vikings as an undrafted free agent. Once I get on to a team and get on to a roster, I trust myself and believe myself. It's just a matter of somebody going out on a limb and trusting me."