Rodgers calls on NFL to examine Buccaneers' field — SkimNews
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- Aaron Rodgers called on the NFL to examine Raymond James Stadium's playing surface after the Steelers' OT win over the Buccaneers, calling it "one of the worst playing surfaces in the league" and a player-safety concern.
- Rodgers said he was injured twice previously on that field — a right (throwing) shoulder in a 30-21 loss during his 2008 debut season as Packers starter, and a calf muscle in a Week 16 20-3 win in 2014, the season he won his second of four MVPs.
- Chris Boswell lost his footing on a field-goal attempt at the Steelers' home field last year, prompting Rodgers to call that surface "borderline unplayable"; the Steelers then replaced it before their next game (a swap that had already been planned).
- Raymond James Stadium uses natural grass and shares its playing surface with USF.
- NFLPA president JC Tretter has lobbied for playing-surface standards since 2020 and in 2022 called for an immediate ban on specific slit-film turf surfaces, which several teams subsequently removed.
- Rodgers threw the game-winning touchdown pass in Sunday's OT win; the 22-year veteran is in his final NFL season, and the Steelers next face the Saints in Paris next Sunday.
Why it matters: Rodgers — a four-time MVP in his final season — named a specific multi-use stadium and tied it to two past injuries of his own, lending a high-profile, personal voice to the NFLPA's years-long campaign for standardized playing surfaces across the league.
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