Former Jets linebacker Erin Henderson was placed on the non-football injury list by the team last season and that decision is at the heart of a lawsuit Henderson has filed against the team.
Henderson, who has bi-polar disorder, believes he was placed on the list without merit and is suing for wrongful termination and disability discrimination. He is seeking $3.3 million in compensatory damages based on his lost salary for last season and the salary he was set to make in 2017 before the team declined his contract option as well as punitive damages.
Henderson’s agent Jim Chapman told Connor Hughes of NJ.com that Henderson did not know why the team placed him on NFI until an NFLPA grievance hearing in June. The team said Henderson was “not fit” to play at that time.
Chapman said that Henderson struggled with side effects of Seroquel, which was prescribed by a team physician to treat his bi-polar disorder. The drug allegedly left him sleepy, which caused him to be late to meetings where Henderson was allegedly accused of being hungover and “still drunk” by coaches and teammates. The Jets had no comment on those or any other allegations in the lawsuit.
Henderson served a four-game substance abuse suspension in 2009 and was released by the Vikings in 2014 after two DUI arrests. He signed with the Jets in 2015 and was placed on the NFI list last October.