Falcons front office worried about painkiller use in 2010

New Orleans Saints v Atlanta Falcons

An e-mail exchange among Falcons executives regarding the use of painkillers six years ago has been dusted off during Super Bowl week, according to the Associated Press via Pro Football Talk.

Marty Lauzon, the Falcons’ head athletic trainer in 2010, e-mailed general manager Thomas Dimitroff about the players’ over-reliance on painkillers. Dimitroff forwarded the email to owner Arthur Blank, who indicated that it was a topic that needed to be discussed.

Painkiller use is a problem around the NFL, not just with the Falcons, and the team had nothing to say about it Monday night.

“That’s being litigated now. That’s not something we’re going discuss right now,” Dimitroff said. “When the time is right, we’ll readdress that.”

The Falcons don’t appear to be in any trouble. If anything, perhaps they were more pro-active about the issue than other teams.

The NFL generally has become more aware of concussions in the last six years. Hopefully the same is true when it comes to painkillers.

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