There are many tales of former football players -- especially those in the "old days" -- battling with physical and mental issues as they grow older.
Add another legendary name to the list of those suffering: Bruce Smith. The Hall of Fame defensive end who terrorized quarterbacks for more than a decade with the Bills, said at Jim Kelly's charity golf tournament he's dealing with pain on "a daily basis."
"There's not a day that goes by that I'm not in pain," Smith said, via Ty Dunne of the Buffalo News. "Multiple joints and things that I experience on a daily basis. It can be very frustrating sometimes and painful, but I'm very blessed."
The physical nature of football didn't just take a toll on Smith's body. Smith, 53, says he's also already dealing with some memory issues as well.
"I forget a lot of things sometimes," Smith said. "I'm not one to sit here and complain. While I did not know the severity of what continuous head traumas could do to an individual and the mind and so forth, I'm not going to sit here and complain. I'm very blessed to be standing here."
Smith is actually an abnormality when it comes to the length of his playing career. He spent 15 years with the Bills and four with the Redskins, playing professional football from the age of 22 until he was 40.
Drafted No. 1 overall by the Bills out of Virginia Tech, Smith made an instant impact. He was also incredibly durable, averaging -- averaging! -- 12 sacks a season from 1986 through 1998.
Smith also lamented the lack of knowledge from players when it came to what concussions would do to players.
"For some reason or another, I don't think we'll ever get to that," Smith said. "But obviously there's some light that can be shed on the subject. But for reasons that may be too sensitive, for reasons that may be too damaging, we won't ever get to that point. However, I do think they're taking steps to move in the right direction in the protection of players and future players in the present time.
"But there are some guys who are suffering that we need to make sure are taken care of."
It's wild to think about just how much of a toll the game of football took on Smith -- as Dunne noted, he still works out five days a week and he looks like he's in great shape. But at only 53, he's already dealing with long-lasting effects of a very physical game. Not that Bruce is trying to complain.
