Michael Sam stepping away from football

Sam-who became the first openly gay player to be drafted by an NFL franchise when the Rams selected him in the seventh round of the 2014 draft-most recently suited up for the Alouettes.

He tweeted Friday that “The last 12 months have been very hard for me, to the point where I became concerned with my mental health”.

In his statement, he said he hopes to be back on the field soon.

Michael Sam is no longer a member of the Montreal Alouettes. After attending the NFL’s veteran combine in March 2015 and failing to garner interest, Sam headed north of the border and signed with the Alouettes in May. He didn’t dress this week and was put on the injured list when Montreal played the Edmonton Eskimos Thursday night. The former SEC Defensive Player of the Year cited mental health as his reasoning to walk away from the CFL.

His decision to walk away ends a tumultuous season with the Alouettes.

Sam made it to the final round of cuts with the Rams last summer, but the team chose to cut him prior to the start of the 2014 season.

But Sam left the team early in his tenure under mysterious circumstances, as rumors circulated about his personal life.

Is his professional football career over?