Aaron Rodgers: Calf injury caused by Tampa Bay playing surface
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said during a radio interview on Thursday that the calf injury that hampered him in the playoffs was caused by the field at Raymond James Stadium.
Green Bay beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 20-3, in Tampa, Fla., on Dec. 21, but the injury affected Rodgers during the Packers' run to the NFC Championship game, in which they fell to the Seattle Seahawks.
The four-time Pro Bowler worked nearly every snap of his team's win over the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional Round of the playoffs from the shotgun.
Rodgers also injured his shoulder during a 2008 loss at Tampa Bay.
"The calf was, in my opinion, due to the poor surface in Tampa," Rodgers said on ESPNWisconsin. "Tampa is where I hurt my shoulder as well, back in 2008, and I think that there needs to be looked at some more uniformity as far as the field conditions, because I think there’s a couple surfaces that are more, more likely to create injury than prevent injury.
"There are some incredible surfaces in the NFL and there’s some ones that I think need to be looked at. Tampa is one of them because of the amount of play I think that happens there. When you put down so much sod, and it’s very uneven and soft, I think it can lend to more injuries. I mean, I’ve played there three times, and been hurt there directly … might have been directly related to the field twice, so."
Over 16 games this season, Rodgers passed for 4,381 yards and 38 touchdowns with only five interceptions while leading Green Bay to a 12-4 record and first-place finish in the NFC North.
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