Aqib Talib Describes What It’s Like to Play Football While on Adderall
Aqib Talib turned out to be one heck of a football player after spending 12 seasons in the National Football League. He played for four different teams, including the Denver Broncos, where he earned Pro-Bowl honors in all four seasons with the team. In his latest podcast, Call to the Booth, Talib revealed what it was like to play football while on Adderall, a substance banned by the NFL.
Aqib Talib’s career had its ups and downs
On the field is where Aqib Talib shined during his 12 seasons in the NFL. Off the field, not so much. He spent his first four seasons in the league with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay had selected Talib in the first round of the 2008 NFL draft.
With the Buccaneers, Talib was arrested in 2009 for allegedly battering a taxi driver. In 2011, he was indicted on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. The charges were dropped a year later due to insufficient evidence. Talib was also involved in a fight with a teammate during the rookie symposium in 2008.
On the field, Talib made good things happen. After his run in Tampa was over, he made the Pro Bowl in his first full season with the New England Patriots in 2013. Talib then inked a free-agent deal with the Denver Broncos, where he made four straight Pro Bowls.
Talib was suspended for violating the NFL’s PED policy in 2012
In his final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Aqib Talib was issued a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy. In October of 2012, Talib was notified by the league and he issued a statement that acknowledged he had been taking Adderall since the beginning of training camp. He didn’t appeal the decision.
“Around the beginning of training camp, I made a mistake by taking an Adderall pill without a prescription,” Talib’s statement read, according to NFL.com. “This is especially regrettable because, for the past several months, with Coach (Greg) Schiano’s help, I’ve worked very hard to improve myself — professionally and personally — as a player and a man and I am truly sorry to my teammates, coaches, and Buccaneers fans, and I’m disappointed in myself.
“I will work diligently every day of this suspension to stay in top football shape and be ready to help this team in the second half of the season. I have chosen to be immediately accountable for the situation I put myself in, which is why I will not exercise my appeal rights and will begin serving the suspension immediately.”
Talib revealed what it was like to play football on Adderall
During a recent episode of his podcast, Call to the Booth, Aqib Talib was speaking about the recent suspensions of Houston Texans wide receiver Will Fuller ad cornerback Bradley Roby. Both received six-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s PED policy. Talib then went on to tell his own story about experimenting with Adderall, a drug banned by the NFL.
Talib said the teams take a street drug test and then PED tests throughout the year. He passed the street drug test and then wanted to know what the big deal was with Adderall. He and teammate Eric Wright experimented with it. “We’re hearing all of the Adderall stories… Adderall this, Adderall that, so we’re like, let’s see, let’s see what the hell everybody (is) taking Adderall for while they play football, right?” Talib said they took it before a practice to get a feel for it. He said at that point, they didn’t know it was considered a PED.
“We’re going against Mike Williams and Vincent Jackson — that’s the two receivers on the Bucs… I tell you — Adderall is a performance-enhancing drug. I was locked in, I was faster, I was thinking about the route… it was like a video game. Real sh–. I was like a machine. I was like Mega Man.”
Aqib Talib
Two days later, Talib said, they were both given a PED test, and both he and Wright failed.
