Favre reveals three trips to rehab
Retired quarterback Brett Favre says he made three trips to rehabilitation centers during his Hall of Fame career to fight his dependence on painkillers and alcohol.
Favre, 48, told Sports Illustrated that he took as many as 14 Vicodin at one time during the 1995 season in Green Bay. Favre won the first of his three consecutive Most Valuable Player awards that season.
“It is really amazing, as I think back, how well I played that year,’’ Favre said. “That was an MVP year for me. But that year, when I woke up in the morning, my first thought was, ‘ I gotta get more pills.’ ’’
Favre said his issues with pills caused him to spend 28 days at a center in Rayville, Louisiana, in the early 1990s. Favre also says he spent 28 days in rehab “strictly for drinking” in 1998. The story also mentions a previously reported 72- day stint at a Kansas City rehab center in the mid- 1990s to get off Vicodin.
“When I drank, I drank to excess,’’ Favre said. “So when I went in the second time, to the place in Kansas, I remember vividly fighting them in there. They said drinking was the gateway drug for me, and theywere right, absolutely right, but I wouldn’t admit it. I will never forget one of the nurses. I had it all figured out. I fought with this nurse all the time. I would not admit the drinking problem. At the end, she said to me, ‘ You’ll be back.’
“I was back. 1998. Guess who was waiting there when I walked in— that same nurse.’’
Favre played in the NFL from 1991- 2010 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
Brady, Gronk miss Pats’ OTA again
Three months after losing the Super Bowl to the Eagles, the Patriots held their second organized team activity without Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Coach Bill Belichick declined to comment on the absence of two of his biggest stars. Both players had quarreled with the Patriots this offseason over their contracts, with the Pro Bowl tight end dangling the possibility of retiring before informing the team last month that he will return.
Helmet hits will lead to ejections
The NFL passed a new rule for this season that says any player who initiates contact with his helmet is subject to ejection. All calls will be subject to an in- game video review conducted in New York. The new rule can apply to both offensive and defensive players.
This and that
The Jets traded quarterback Christian Hackenberg to the Raiders for a conditional seventh- round draft pick in 2019. Hackenberg was a second- round pick out of Penn State in 2016, but never played a regularseason snap for the Jets.
The Eagles released Mychal Kendricks, who has been the subject of trade speculation for multiple offseasons. Also, newly signed linebacker Paul Worrilow suffered a torn ACL during the first practice of OTAs.
Chargers tight end Hunter Henry tore his ACL during practice Tuesday.