Niners Nation
‘It’s a meathead thing’: 49ers players won’t give up smelling salts, even after NFL rule (paywall)
“Undrafted San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Sebastian Valdez, in street clothes, received his introduction in the form of an ammonia capsule the size of a small stick of gum.
All-Pro pass rusher Nick Bosa approached Valdez with an important job ahead of the team’s season opener in Seattle: “You’re the guy this week,” Bosa told Valdez, before handing him a bottle of smelling salts, which players believe can provide a jolt of energy and improve their focus.
A month prior to the start of the 2025 regular season, the NFL prohibited team employees from supplying ammonia inhalants, citing their potential to also mask concussion symptoms, short of outright restricting their use. Players would still be allowed to bring their own….So they did, and organized a system of distribution on game day. Valdez is kept busy on Sundays, following around his fellow Niners defensive linemen with pockets full of ammonia….Many 49ers players spoke to smelling salts’ potency while noting they use them to gain focus or aggression — in short, as performance-enhancing. Long snapper Jon Weeks is not among those who have used inhalants, but he learned about their power when he was studying to become an EMT before his NFL career. Their purpose for a first responder: to revive an unconscious person.
Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott said inhalants, whose effects are short-lived, are akin to sniffing wasabi and can bring tears to his eyes. Puni, in his second season, became a convert when left tackle Trent Williams, a 15-year veteran, offered him smelling salts during a loss to the Jaguars on Sept. 28.
“He let me have one and I was like, ‘That’s pretty cool,’” Puni said. “It just kind of woke me up, like ‘Whoa.’”
But Puni might be an exception. Several players said they tried smelling salts for the first time in college, and earlier in some cases.
“F—, I mean, I probably used them in high school back then,” guard Nick Zakelj said. “It’s probably always been around. It’s always been prevalent.”
Center Jake Brendel said he’s used smelling salts to get into “lizard brain” mode before big lifts in the weight room. And fellow linemen such as Zakelj and pass rusher Bryce Huff said inhalants can get them in the right mindset for their violent work in the trenches.
“It’s a meathead thing: Like, let me get juiced up before I go out there,” Zakelj said.
Said Brendel: “Back in the day, when you were going down on kickoffs and you knew you were going to get hit by the wedge? I would be doing smelling salts all day if I was that guy.”
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