Former Denver Bronco Joins Growing List Of Players Suing NFL

DENVER (CBS4)- A former Denver Bronco player has joined the growing list of former NFL players who have filed a lawsuit against the league.

Dave Studdard played for the Broncos from 1979-1988. The former defensive lineman claims he's suffering from the effects of head injuries from his playing days.

Studdard estimates he took more than 40 hits to the head which he refers to as "dings."

"Taking a ding is like when you go head to head right here with another player to just where it kind of knocked you back and just kind of takes all your peripheral vision out of the way so you get tunnel vision. So I can only see this way," said Studdard.

His short-term memory is bad; he claims he forgets where he is at times and where he came from.

Studdard said the league does not properly protect players from concussions.

"We thought our bodies got beat up but we were never told about this thing. I mean, we had helmets and they'd say the helmets take care of everything fine," said Studdard.

Studdard isn't the only one, he's joined more than 2,200 other former players to sue the NFL. His attorneys believe that information was withheld.

"The NFL having information and not disclosing it to its players, really, so that the NFL could profit," said Studdard's attorney Seth A. Katz with Burg Simpson. "The information the NFL had, if it had been disclosed to the players would have changed the decision whether to play or not."

Studdard suggests young people pick another sport and not risk taking 20 years off their lives.

"If I would have known it was going to be something that would have killed me 20 years faster than I would have lived, yeah, I would have walked away," said Suddard.

Studdard's son, Kasey Studdard, played in the NFL. He most recently played for the Texans and hopes to get picked up by another team.

Studdard said Kasey playing football scares him to death.

The NFL released this statement in regards to Studdard's lawsuit: "The NFL has long made player safety a priority and continues to do so. Any allegation that the NFL intentionally sought to mislead players has no merit. It stands in contrast to the league's actions to better protect players and advance the science and medical understanding of the management and treatment of concussions."