Kyle Turley Says He Had Teammates Who Took 30 Vicodin A Day

Former NFL offensive lineman Kyle Turley was a guest on Colin Cowherd's show today, and the two had a semi-heated discussion about the recent lawsuit that was filed against the NFL by eight former players. The suit alleges, among other things, that team doctors willfully and negligently urged players to dope themselves up with unsafe doses of painkillers and other drugs so that they could play through injuries. Turley didn't play in the league much more recently than any of the plaintiffs in the suit, but paints a similar picture of his experience with drugs in the locker room.

Unfortunately for Turley, he had to spend a lot of energy dealing with stupid bullshit, as Cowherd decided to take the predictable, idiotic "Shouldn't the players be taking the responsibility for this?!?" stance. Turley patiently reminded Cowherd that it's not exactly easy to turn down painkillers when you don't have a guaranteed contract and your entire financial well-being depends on your ability to take the field, and that not many people are quick to question the medical advice of licensed doctors.

The clip above is long, but it's worth listening to just for the sobering anecdotes that Turley shares. Among them: He had teammates who took 30 Vicodin pills a day, at least half of his teammates were addicted to painkillers in one way or another, and the Rams medical staff never told him that he was playing with a blown out disc in his back. Just try not to stab out your eardrums when Cowherd starts talking.