TAMPA, Fla. – Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said Thursday that his late-season calf injury was because of the playing surface at Raymond James Stadium.
"The calf was, in my opinion, due to the poor surface in Tampa," Rodgers said on his radio show with ESPN Milwaukee. "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. I think there's a couple of surfaces that are more likely to create injury than prevent injury. There's some incredible surfaces in the NFL. 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've played there three times and been hurt there, in my opinion directly related to the field, twice."
The Bucs share their home field with the University of South Florida.
Rodgers’ criticism is somewhat surprising. In surveys done by the NFL Players Association, Raymond James Stadium traditionally has been rated as one of the best playing surfaces in the league.
