NFL player Brandon Marshall says athletes are using Viagra ... ON THE FIELD



Football players may have found a use for Viagra outside of the bedroom, according to Chicago Bears' wide receiver Brandon Marshall.

Marshall said he's heard of some players using the sexual stimulant to improve their performance on the field.

'I know guys, it is such a competitive league, guys try anything just to get that edge,' Marshall said during his weekly press conference. 'I’m fortunate enough to be blessed with size and some smarts to give me my edge,' he boasted.



Little blue pill: Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall says he knows NFL players who use Viagra to improve their performance on the field

'But some guys, they’ll do whatever they can to get an edge. I’ve heard of some crazy stories. I’ve heard guys using like Viagra, seriously. Because the blood is supposedly thin, some crazy stuff. So, you know, it’s kind of scary with some of these chemicals that are in some of these things so you have to be careful.'

Marshall made the comments as NFL players come under increased scrutiny for using the performance-enhancing drug Adderall, which is prescribed for attention deficit disorder.

Adderall is the latest in a long list of performance-enhancing drugs that professional athletes have been busted for abusing over the last couple decades.

Viagra usage hasn't been a major concern in the NFL, but it might now get a second look after Marshall's comment.

Effects: Researchers have long been studying the effects of Viagra on athletic performance, but studies have been largely inconclusive

Researchers have long been studying the effects of Viagra on athletic performance, but studies have been largely inconclusive.

Some athletes are said to take the drug because it helps to aid the delivery of steroids and oxygen to the muscles, which also aids in hastening recovery from workouts. The drug also counteracts impotence, a major side-effect of steroid usage.



Viagra is a legal drug, but athletes - as well as the rest of the public - cannot legally possess the drug without a prescription.



In May of 2007, the cyclist Andrea Moletta was banned from the Tour of Italy after he was found to be in possession of 82 Viagra pills, as well as syringes concealed in a tube of toothpaste.