Rolling Stone: Hernandez took PCP, carried guns

If the ongoing Aaron Hernandez saga isn't yet weird enough for you, give it time.

ESPN.com this morning published an article regarding Rolling Stone's upcoming story about Aaron Hernandez, in which the magazine states that the former Patriots tight end used the drug angel dust, and suffered from paranoia to the point that he carried a gun with him everywhere.

"Citing longtime friends of Hernandez who did not want their names used, the magazine describes a young man who was protected and pushed by his father in Bristol, Conn.," ESPN's article stated. "But when his father, who had his own run-ins with the law but had gone straight, died unexpectedly, Hernandez's life teetered between great accomplishments on the field and trouble off it."

The magazine's story cites "longtime friends" who wished to have their names withheld.

"The magazine describes a young man who was protected and pushed by his father in Bristol, Conn. But when his father, who had his own run-ins with the law but had gone straight, died unexpectedly, Hernandez's life teetered between great accomplishments on the field and trouble off it."

Rolling Stone's story states that Hernandez managed to "escape" several brushes with the law while playing for the University of Florida (big surprise). And even after signing his five-year, $40 million extension last summer, Hernandez ran "almost exclusively with a rough crowd."

Per ESPN.com's article:

"Friends called the people gangsters and even Hernandez expressed concern, according to the magazine. In February, according to the report, he flew to the NFL combine in Indianapolis to tell Belichick that his life was in danger. He had been carrying a gun, fearing that the people he had been hanging out with were going to kill him."

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was apparently displeased with Hernandez's excessive partying—a fact that, according to Rolling Stone, came to a head when Hernandez skipped workouts to rehab an injury while in California last spring.

"Belichick told Hernandez then that he had better lay low and that any more problems would result in the tight end being cut," ESPN.com's article stated. "Hernandez rented an apartment in Franklin, Mass., according to the report, creating distance from the North Attleborough mansion where he'd entertained the rough crowd.

"Friends told the magazine, however, that drugs and emotional instability based on Hernandez's loss of his father led to paranoia and Hernandez's ultimate unraveling."

You can read the full ESPN.com article here.