Former NFL Linebacker Geno Hayes Dead at 33 Following Liver Disease Complications

Joe Robbins/Getty Geno Hayes

Former NFL linebacker Geno Hayes died Monday evening after being placed into hospice care for complications from liver disease. He was 33.

Hayes' high school football coach, Frankie Carroll, told the Tallahassee Democrat that he was informed of Hayes' death by the former pro athlete's family.

"It's one of those things where you have to make sure you tell them you love them," Carroll told the outlet.

RELATED: Former NFL Linebacker Geno Hayes Placed in Hospice Care at 33: He's 'Fighting for His Life'

Prior to his death, Hayes was in hospice care at his mother's home in Valdosta, Georgia. "Geno's in need of prayers. He's fighting for his life," Carroll had told the Tallahassee Democrat last Thursday. "It's tough."

Hayes was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL draft and then signed with the Chicago Bears in 2012. He last played for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2014.

Before his time in the NFL, Smith played with Florida State, where he was named an All-American.

"Thoughts and prayer for the family and friends of Geno Hayes," Florida State head coach Mike Norvell wrote on Twitter. "He lived his life as a tremendous Seminole who impacted so many throughout his journey on and off the field. His legacy will live on. #RIP#NoleFamily."

Joe Robbins/Getty Geno Hayes

Hayes — a father of two children, ages 13 and 8 — previously told ESPN reporter Jenna Laine that he'd been battling liver disease for two years and was waiting for a transplant.

"The first diagnosis they gave me was alcoholic cirrhosis. But when we dug in deeper, it became just chronic liver disease, because I don't drink like that," Hayes said. "If I did drink, it was just like wine or something like that. But my body is made different. And that's what [my doctor] said -- 'Everybody's made different.'"

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Hayes said he was initially diagnosed with the illness when he rapidly went from weighing 220 pounds to just 150. He told ESPN that he believed his use of over-the-counter pain medications during his time in the NFL, as well as his family's history of liver disease, ultimately led to his condition.

"At first I didn't let my kids come around when I was in the hospital," Hayes told the outlet. "Over time we eased into them knowing about me and now they know how to handle things..."

"I went into a depression for literally three months ... supreme depression," he continued. "I wanted more to know but didn't want to be a burden. ... Being in my position, I was always so private that I closed myself off to people."

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Hayes told ESPN that he wanted to help people while in hospice care.

"I'm enjoying life, I'm spending more time with my kids and I really want to help people," he said.

"My main goal is to just inspire, to inspire the next person, no matter what they're going through, no matter what who talks bad about them -- family, friends, social media, all of that crap -- it don't matter," Hayes added. "You take care of you. Make sure you're straight. That's all I want to do."