BRANDON MARSHALL

Three current and former professional athletes open up on their personal struggles with mental health.

The proliferation of fentanyl is one reason some experts don't expect any substantial decline in drug overdose deaths this year.

2020 was overall the deadliest year in U.S. history. With about 378,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19, the nation saw more than 3.3 million deaths.

The new findings represent to a 29% increase from the year prior.

Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government reported Wednesday. “This is a staggering loss of human life,” said Brandon Marshall, a Brown University public health researcher who tracks overdose trends. The nation was already struggling with its worst overdose epidemic but clearly "COVID has greatly exacerbated the crisis,” he added.

A receiver from Central Florida, Marshall was eager to improve his stock with pro scouts in the winter before the draft. They finally let me in, but not everybody can get that opportunity.”This year, nobody got that opportunity — because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the combine was canceled. He didn't want a repeat of a year ago, when pro days for draft prospects were canceled at the outset of the pandemic. More than a dozen players participated after training for weeks at House of Athlete in South Florida. Marshall extended invitations to others and had hoped for a bigger turnout, but pandemic risks may have deterred some prospects.

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)The Week 17 scoring bonanza provided the perfect finish to a record-setting season on offense. Teams combined for 100 touchdowns in the final week of the season for the second-most in NFL history in a single week behind only the 104 scored in Week 14 of the 2013 season. He became the first player with at least 4,500 yards passing, 35 TD passes and five TD runs in a single season. The Browns joined the 2012 Colts (minus-30) as the only teams to win 11 games in a season when they were outscored. EVEN STEVENIn a bit of a statistical oddity, the Vikings gained the exact same number of yards this season as they allowed: 6,292.

Hopkins and the Cardinals agreed to a two-year contract extension on Tuesday that will keep the three-time All-Pro in Arizona through the 2024 season. Hopkins said he worked on about 90% of the deal and had some help from advisers. Cardinals GM Steve Keim said it was a great process and he got to know the receiver even better during negotiations. It was our goal all along to get (Hopkins) extended, Keim said. I was like, man, if I could be in this offense, a pass-first offense one day, the sky's the limit, Hopkins said.