Former NFL quarterback Brady Quinn believes the the league has a substantial unaddressed HGH problem.
In a "Roughing the Passer" podcast with CBS Sports' Pete Prisco Quinn on Monday, Quinn said he thinks up to half the players are taking some type of performance enhancer.
"I'm not going to be a whistleblower, and I'm not accusing anyone of anything," Quinn said. "There's got to be something these guys are taking. That's what I think, at least."
"When you're the starter, you have your annual [test] and you have one surprise [test] or one unknown [test]," Quinn said. "But beyond that, you don't get tested quite as often. It's really the backups or older players [who get tested]."
He said the NFL league's lax drug testing makes it easier for more players to use. During the 2014 season, no players were caught for using HGH, according to USA Today.
Every week, 40 players across eight teams are asked to give blood as part of the league's drug-testing policy. According to The Associated Press, a total of 950 tests are issued during the preseason through the playoffs, and 385 more are issued during the offseason.
Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, criticized the NFL's drug testing in an interview with AP last November. "You pretty much have to be a fool to test positive," he said.
One of the major issues the agency had with the NFL's policy was that the "timing and location of the majority of testing is too predictable."
Quinn, who played for five teams in his eight-year career, believes that HGH use could be tied into the recent wave of injuries that have occurred this season. There were a number a notable season-ending injuries in Week 8, including Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell tearing his MCL and Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith tearing his achilles tendon.
The direct link between these specific injuries and HGH is questionable, at best. A number of these injuries have been of the non-contact variety, or in some cases, were freak accidents. But there is something to be said about current NFL players and suspected use of performance enhancers.
Quinn is not the first former quarterback to think that current players are taking HGH. In February, Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton told USA Today Sports that he also thought a substantial amount of players were taking performance-enhancing drugs.
"This generation of players is absolutely at great risk of harm and short life," Tarkenton said. "And I would be less than responsible if I knew that and didn't speak out."
The Hall of Famer, like Quinn, said he thinks the current drug testing the league has in place is not strong enough. "These drugs are available," he said. "They have the financial wherewithal to obtain them. They work, and there's loopholes in the testing."
With more growing concern for HGH use among players, it could pose another safety issue for the NFL.
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