Former Cardinals GM Opens Up on Rehab Trip, Mental Health

Former Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim discussed his struggles with mental health with NFL insider Jay Glazer.

Oct 20, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim during the / Rob Schumacher / USA TODAY NETWORK

ARIZONA -- It's been over a year since former Arizona Cardinals GM Steve Keim was leading the organization, though much has changed since on both sides.

The Cardinals hit the reset button after 2023, firing head coach Kliff Kingsbury and seeing Keim step down due to personal/health reasons.

Now, Arizona's led by GM Monti Ossenfort and HC Jonathan Gannon. Kingsbury departed for USC for one season before recently accepting a job as Washington Commanders offensive coordinator while Keim has done some studio analysis work and has yet to rejoin a role in any front office.

Keim recently appeared on the "Unbreakable with Jay Glazer Podcast" and opened up on his mental health after checking himself into rehab while still with the Cardinals:

"Leading up to it, I had enough people - again, friends, family, coworkers, Michael Bidwill even came, our [Arizona Cardinals] owner came and sat with me multiple times and said, 'hey, you just don't seem like yourself' and I didn't know what it was," Keim said.

"But I also didn't try to hide from it. I told him straight up, 'I'm not doing good. I don't know what's wrong with me.' And you know, he was great, supportive, here for you. But at the same time again, there's a difference between acknowledging and saying, 'Hey, I don't know what's wrong with me and I'm not perfect' versus 'I really need some help'. Again, that at the treatment center is the number one thing that they emphasize is making sure that if you have problems out there, I don't care who it is, whatever your problems may be in life, ask for help. That that's the vulnerability that's important."

Full clip:

For the first time former Arizona Cardinals General Manager Steve Keim opens up about making the difficult decision to check himself into rehab while still employed as GM of the team, parting ways with the #Cardinals while still in rehab, the work he’s since done on himself on… pic.twitter.com/8KKf5CpumC

— Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) April 23, 2024

Keim dove deeper into his struggles while with the team in the 50+ minute podcast, which is available here.