In early January, former quarterback Jake Plummer sat side by side with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at Sports Authority Field in Denver to watch the Broncos defeat the Steelers in a divisional playoff game. The meeting was informal, with the real talking points — the ones that would be raised in the months ahead — put aside.
But only temporarily.
Plummer and many other active and retired players were in the beginning stages of building a campaign and raising money and awareness for cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive compound in cannabis that is believed to be a safer pain reliever for football players.