Will Smith is in talks to star in an untitled drama for producer Ridley Scott, which examines the NFL's concussion issues.

If a deal becomes finalized, the actor will portray Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic neuropathologist who, in 2002, was the first doctor to discover chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brain of a professional football player, and made the public aware of the condition. The plot is described as a whistleblower tale in the same vein as The Insider, which explores the traumatic price that athletes pay, along with the political, corporate and cultural interests that drive professional sports.

We first reported on this project back in November, when Ridley Scott signed on to write the script and direct, but now he will only be serving as producer. Peter Landesman (Parkland) is now directing and writing the script, based on the 2009 GQ article Game Brain by Jeanne Marie Laskas, which you can CLICK HERE to read in its entirety. Giannina Facio, Michael Schaefer, David Wolthoff and Larry Shulman are producing alongside Ridley Scott.

Last week, Will Smith bowed out of the superhero thriller Brilliance, with sources claiming that this movie may be one of the reasons he bowed out, along with scheduling conflicts.