A star at Michigan State, he was the No. 2 pick in the 2003 N.F.L. draft. But his pro career was undone by drug use.

Charles Rogers, a former Detroit Lions receiver whose promising N.F.L. career was derailed by injuries and drug use, died on Monday in Fort Myers, Fla. He was 38.

The cause was liver failure, said his mother, Cathy Rogers.

Rogers was considered the best receiver in the 2003 N.F.L. draft and was selected by the Lions as the second overall pick.

His career stalled after he sustained two collarbone injuries in his first two seasons and began to take painkillers, to which he became addicted, his mother said.

The Lions suspended Rogers for substance abuse in 2005 and released him the next year, ending his career after three seasons with only 36 receptions, 440 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

“It put me in a depression,” Rogers told NBC2, a Fort Myers affiliate, in 2017. “That medium put me in a depression, man.”

Charles Rogers was born on May 23, 1981, in Saginaw, Mich., to Cathy Rogers, a single mother.

“Charles was very happy-go-lucky; that smile would light up a room,” his cousin Ali Smith said on Monday. “Everyone knew Charles was special.”

Rogers starred at Saginaw High School.

“He is the best athlete that ever came through Saginaw, period,” Don Durrett, his former high school coach, said on Monday. “He was the hardest-working kid, committed and well-mannered.”

Rogers was considered the nation’s top-rated high school player in the early 2000s. He proudly wore a tattoo that read “Sag-Nasty” on his left forearm.

“Saginaw got me where I am now, Saginaw got me ready for the world,” he said in 2003.

After graduating from high school, Rogers went to Michigan State but did not academically qualify to play during his first year. He played on the team during his sophomore and junior years.

In those two years he had 27 touchdown receptions, a record for Michigan State. His short but explosive career with the Spartans culminated with the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the best receiver in college football.

“Just from watching him, I thought he was the second coming of Randy Moss,” said Sam Sword, a former N.F.L. linebacker from Saginaw who met Rogers when he was in high school. “It is rare that a kid from Saginaw becomes the No. 2 draft pick,” Sword said on Monday. “He was electric.”

Before he was drafted, Rogers had big goals for his N.F.L. career.

“I don’t see why I can’t be a 1,000-yard receiver and make the Pro Bowl in my first year,” he said in 2003. He added: “I want people to go home from games and say: ‘Did you see that boy? I’m coming back to see some more.’”

Four years after he was released from his contract with the Lions, the team sued Rogers in an effort to recoup part of his $9.1 million signing bonus. The court ruled that Rogers had to repay the team $6.1 million.

On Monday, the Lions expressed their condolences in a statement.

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Charles Rogers,” the team said. “From Saginaw, to East Lansing, to Detroit, Charles’ connection to the state of Michigan and its football community was felt by many.”

In addition to his mother, Rogers’s survivors include eight children; his brother, Mike Afford; and his sisters, Keisha Afford and Savannah Brown.

In his 2017 interview with NBC2, Rogers reflected on his time in the N.F.L.

“How many people been the No. 2 draft pick?” he asked. “I got there, I did that, I earned that,” he continued. “It’s just the next chapter in life, and I’m trying to find the next chapter.”

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