Former Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell wrote in an essay for The Players' Tribune that he drank codeine cough syrup to help with pain during his football career.
Russell, who starred at LSU before becoming the No. 1 pick of the 2007 draft, said he chose cough syrup instead of the painkillers prescribed to him.
"The funny thing is, I never liked painkillers," Russell said. "In college and the NFL, they were handing that s--t out like Skittles. But I didn’t like the way they made me feel. So I handled it my way."
After dislocating his shoulder at LSU, he got caught drinking codeine in a Styrofoam cup during a class the next week.