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Jon Kitna Says a Teammate Was Drunk During a Bengals Game When He Was QB
March 11, 2021
Jon Kitna has said one of his former Cincinnati Bengals teammates was drunk during a game.
Kitna recounted the story on The Ryen Russillo Podcast (h/t Dave Clark of the Cincinnati Enquirer) and didn't divulge the identity of the player, who appears to be a wide receiver:
"There were some things that were hard to believe (with the Bengals). There was a time that I played a game with a guy that was drunk in the huddle. There was a time that a guy showed up late to a game. In the NFL, you need to be there two hours, two hours and 15 minutes ahead of time. And he showed up under an hour before the game's start. Those are weird things, now. That's tough. ... I'm not sure if the staff knew. But I think the guy was like—that was kind of his normal. I mean he was drunk and had close to 200 yards receiving now. So, it was crazy."
Kitna spent five seasons with the Bengals and was their starting quarterback from 2001-03 before the team turned to Carson Palmer. He threw for 10,707 yards, 59 touchdowns and 59 interceptions in 53 appearances.
Willie Anderson spent all but one of his 13 years in the NFL with the Bengals and was teammates with Kitna for the entirety of his run in Cincinnati. He responded to a post on social media upon hearing the anecdote:
Former Washington Football Team star Clinton Portis said in 2017 he and Santana Moss used to take a shot of Hennessy prior to games. He later explained he saw the shot as a substitute for painkillers NFL players would usually receive.
Free-agent wideout Josh Gordon revealed to GQ's Clay Skipper in November 2017 he thought he had had marijuana or alcohol in his system "probably every game of my career" to that point.
Speaking with B/R's Master Tesfatsion on Untold Stories, Hall of Famer Terrell Owens said Donovan McNabb had been out partying the night before the Philadelphia Eagles' loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX.