Brandon Marshall says pain pills erased memory of three-touchdown game

It’s no secret athletes will do whatever it takes to play, but Brandon Marshall’s story from a game two years ago is still troubling.

As the New York Jets get ready to play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall was asked about his three-touchdown game against the 49ers in 2014. Marshall was playing for the Chicago Bears that season, and during a conference call with Bay Area reporters on Wednesday he talked about what he did to play through an ankle injury.

Marshall hesitated, then told his story.

"“I don’t really remember much about that game, because I worked really hard to get back from a high ankle [sprain],” Marshall said.“I’ll say it: I took a couple pain pills that masked the pain,” Marshall said. “I really wasn’t supposed to play. I came back from a high ankle [sprain] within 10 days. I was supposed to be out four to six weeks. I don’t remember much from that game. I just remember catching those balls. And that was pretty much it.”"

Pain management, and alternatives to potentially dangerous, addictive pills, has become a bigger topic in the NFL over the last couple years. Recently retired offensive tackle Eugene Monroe has been among the advocates for the benefits of marijuana. States across the country are starting to legalize recreational and medical use of marijuana, but the NFL does not seem inclined to change its drug policy any time soon. Marshall’s story will surely now become a talking point for those who want marijuana as another option for players to curb pain.

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Marshall, for better or (sometimes) worse, is one of the most honest and candid NFL players out there on a wide variety of topics. So his openness about an experience with pain pills is not surprising, even if it took being asked about one of the best games of his career to bring it out.