Brett Favre may have had an illustrious career as an NFL quarterback, but it wasn’t until this week that he revealed some of the medical issues he struggled with during that time.

Brett Favre Confesses Health Issues

The 48-year-old Hall of Fame star told Sports Illustrated on Monday that while playing for the Green Bay Packers in 1995 — the year he won the NFL MVP Award — he took large doses of painkillers like Vicodin.

“I took 14 Vicodin, yes, one time. I was getting an hour or two of sleep many nights. Maybe 30 minutes of quality sleep. I was the MVP on a pain-pill buzz,” Favre told Sports Illustrated. “The crazy thing was, I’m not a night owl. Without pills I’d fall asleep at 9:30. But with pills, I could get so much done, I just figured, ‘This is awesome.’ Little did I know [fiancée and now wife] Deanna would be finding some of my pills and when she did, she’d flush them down the toilet.”

Super Bowl champion Favre also confessed he went to rehabilitation centers three times — for stints ranging from one to two-and-a-half months — during his football career.

“When I got out, the toughest thing was the first three months, because I had to change my thought process,” Favre explained. “When I played golf before, I realized the only reason I wanted to play was to drink. After a while, instead of thinking, ‘How many beers can we drink in 18 holes?’ I fell into a pattern of what could I do to get good at golf. I realized with each passing day I really didn’t like drinking.”

Since retiring in 2011, Favre has been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016. He told NBC in April that he has been experiencing “short-term memory issues.” Favre, an 11-time Pro Bowler, has also voiced concern over the possibility of him developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a form of brain trauma associated with repeated blows to the head and concussions. The neurodegenerative disease has been discovered to have affected hundreds of football players.

Josh Gordon’s comeback with the Cleveland Browns seems to be nearing its end.

Browns Planning To Release Josh Gordon After WR Enters Rehab

The team is planning to release Gordon at some point following Thursday’s announcement that the wide receiver is entering an in-patient rehabilitation facility, a source familiar with the situation told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport. 

The development comes after Browns coach Hue Jackson told reporters the team was looking ahead without Gordon.

“We wish him well,” Jackson said. “We need to close that chapter right now. We’re moving on.”

Gordon is eligible to play in the Browns’ Week 5 game against the New England Patriots as part of the terms of his NFL reinstatement for a substance abuse violation. The 25-year-old was suspended for the entire 2015 season for several violations of the league’s substance abuse policies. He was reinstated conditionally on July 25 by commissioner Roger Goodell.

“After careful thought and deep consideration I’ve decided that I need to step away from pursuing my return to the Browns and my football career to enter an in-patient rehabilitation facility,” Gordon said in a statement released through the Browns on Thursday. “This is the right decision for me and one that I hope will enable me to gain full control of my life and continue on a path to reach my full potential as a person. I appreciate the support of the NFL, NFLPA, the Browns, my teammates, my agent and the community through this extremely challenging process.”

Gordon later added to his statement via Twitter:

Gordon did not specify why he’s seeking treatment. The NFL, in a statement, said its “concern is with Josh’s well-being,” and declined further comment.

Sashi Brown, the Browns’ executive vice president of football operations, wouldn’t comment on Gordon’s status with the team either.

“We support Josh in taking this step to seek additional help and treatment,” Brown wrote in a statement. “His singular focus must be on his own health. We want nothing more than for Josh to be successful personally and professionally and will not comment on his status with the organization at this time.”

As part of the terms of his reinstatement, Gordon was permitted to practice with the Browns, but was suspended from the team’s first four games.

The oft-banned receiver hasn’t played in a game since December 2014. He’s just three years removed from leading the NFL in receiving yards (1,646), despite playing just 14 games in 2013.

Earlier this month, an arrest warrant for Gordon was withdrawn after he complied with a year-old court order to take a DNA test in a paternity suit.

An attorney who represents the woman told Cleveland.com that the DNA test came back Thursday and showed that Gordon is the father with 99.9 percent certainty. Another court hearing has been set for Nov. 8.

Before Gordon’s reinstatement, the Browns contacted teams regarding a potential trade involving the former All-Pro selection, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garofalo. Cleveland was seeking a “second-round pick and then some,” Garofalo added. The news quickly led Gordon to reaffirm his commitment to the team.

“Cleveland is my team. That’s where I want to be,” Gordon said. “I’m happy to be with Cleveland.”

The Browns are 0-3 to start the season, and rookie wideout Corey Coleman will be sidelined the next three to five weeks due to a broken hand. It seems the Browns will need to wait a little longer before adding some much-needed veteran help to their young receiving corps.

ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 23:  Josh Gordon #12 of the Cleveland Browns stands on the sideliens in the first half against the Atlanta Falcons at Georgia Dome on November 23, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia.  (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

In a move expected by many, Oakland Raiders outside linebacker Aldon Smith has checked into a treatment facility in California, according to a report by TMZ Sports.

TMZ was the first to report a suspicious video anonymously posted to Twitter’s new live-streaming application, Periscope.

The video in question shows a man smoking a blunt while talking to a female and asking her if she will join him in the “fire up session.”

Smith denied being in the video, despite the man using his name and other videos featuring Smith having appeared on the social media site from the same user.

“Good try, not me,” Smith tweeted Sunday morning.

But the video evidence appears to be pretty incriminating.

It begins with a man panning the camera on his phone toward a woman who covers the lens, “I’m not f—— with you,” the woman says.

The man, possibly Smith, attempts to calm her down by explaining that the video will not likely be seen by many, if any.

“They ain’t f—— with us,” the man said. “We’ve got zero followers.”

It was this thought process that allows the man to lower his guard and possibly reveal his true identity, despite continued protests from his female cohort.

“N—- you shouldn’t even be posting this,” the woman tells the man.

After coughing a couple times to clear his lungs of the smoke, the man tries to reason with her.

“Do you see my face?” he asks. “They don’t have my name. This is just a fire up session.”

At that moment the man seems to have done a masterful job of concealing his identity … and then he steps in it.

“You’re stupid, you’re tripping,” he tells the woman. “They don’t know its me. It’s not like I put ‘Aldon Smith.'”

Smith was suspended one year by the NFL back in November after repeated violations of the league’s substance abuse policy.

Off-field incidents have plagued Smith since he entered the NFL in since being selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the 7th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

In April 2013, Smith was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport as a result of an incident with a TSA agent where Smith became “belligerent and uncooperative,” according to Lorenzo Reyes of USAToday.  Reyes also reported that the TSA agent alleged Smith claimed he had a bomb.

All charges were dropped in that case.

When on the field, Smith has been a very productive defender.

In 59 career games, Smith has posted 47.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and one INT.

The step to enter rehab is either a shrewd move by Smith’s PR team to control the story and the narrative of his career or a necessary step for his mental health and safety.

NFL Insider Bill Williamson gathers the latter is more likely after speaking with sources close to Smith.

“Those close to Aldon Smith are happy he made this move,” Williamson Tweeted Friday. “At this point, it’s more about his well being than football.”