Ex-Pittsburgh Steelers running back and former NFL analyst Merril Hoge says Roundup weed killer caused him to get cancer back in 2003 ... and now, he's suing.
The 54-year-old says he first mixed and sprayed the popular weed killer all over while he was working on a farm in Idaho back in 1977.
Twenty-six years later -- in Feburary 2003 -- he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma ... and now, he's claiming it's the weed killer's fault.
In a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports, Hoge says the makers of Roundup -- Monsanto Company -- knew an ingredient called glyphosate could potentially cause cancer .