Ex-Cowboy: 'Obvious' PEDs rampant in NFL

Players testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs is common in Major League Baseball. According to former Dallas Cowboys safety Darren Woodson, the National Football League will have similar results when it improves its drug-testing policies.
 
The NFL analyst said Thursday that he thinks it's "obvious" that PED use is rampant among professional football players.
 
"I think a lot of it has to do with the testing," Woodson, a three-time Super Bowl champion and 12-year veteran, said on "The Herd” on 103.3 in Dallas [KESN-FM]. "I know it's in the collective bargaining agreement and they're going to start testing for doping and a lot more, (but) they have to be more serious. Once they start testing, there's going to be a reaction.”
 
Woodson talked about how it usually takes several days to recover from the hits a player will sustain in an NFL game, suggesting that PEDs are helping players heal faster.
 
"My body was banged up Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday; Thursday I started to finally start coming around," he said. "And I was playing at the safety position. Imagine the offensive linemen that have to go through this. Imagine the linebackers who are coming downhill all the time. You cannot tell me that it's not a part of the NFL. It's in the NFL and we're going to find that out. When they start testing we're really going to figure it out."
 
Woodson's comments aren't that surprising. But how will a large number of positive tests affect the future of the sport? Will the NFL's popularity suffer if several star players are suspended for the use of banned substances?
 
Probably not. The MLB doesn't seem to be having too much trouble overcoming it.
 
Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota