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Marshall says pain pills erased memories of his 3-TD game in 2014

Mark J. Rebilas / USA TODAY Sports

There are plenty of people who remember Brandon Marshall's three-touchdown performance against the San Francisco 49ers in 2014, but he isn't one of them.

Marshall, then with the Chicago Bears, says he took pain pills to help him play through an ankle sprain suffered just 10 days earlier. The current New York Jets receiver, who will play the 49ers again this week, admits that the pain pills caused him to play in a haze, barely remembering much from his career-best performance.

"I don't really remember much about that game, because I worked really hard to get back from a high ankle (sprain)," Marshall said, via ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "I'll say it: I took a couple pain pills that masked the pain.

"I really wasn't supposed to play. I came back from a high ankle (sprain) within 10 days. I was supposed to be out four-to-six weeks. I don't remember much from that game. I just remember catching those balls. And that was pretty much it."

Marshall hasn't played the 49ers since that then, nor has he scored a trio of touchdowns in a single contest again.

Many around the league have advocated the NFL changing its policy in regards to pain management, pushing for medical marijuana to become legalized for players. The league has not been open to the idea, despite marijuana being legalized in some form or another in 25 states for regular citizens. Marshall says he plans to look more into the prospect of marijuana as a painkiller this offseason.

That is something I actually want to research more this offseason, when I have time," Marshall said. "I'm not a guy that knows about the benefits of what it can do for pain and other things. But I would like to hear others' opinions and really research the effects it can have on us, the positive and negative."

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