Aaron Rodgers Didn't Play vs. Raiders Due to Field Conditions, Not Back Injury

After Aaron Rodgers missed the Green Bay Packers' previous preseason game due to back tightness, the quarterback sat out of Thursday night's exhibition against the Oakland Raiders due to poor field conditions.

"Nothing to do with [my sore] back," Rodgers revealed, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky. "It's more the field conditions that we had tonight."

Thursday night's game was played at IG Field, home of the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Concerns about safety arose prior to the game as the turf in the end zone became an issue:

The game was ultimately played but under adjusted rules. Rather than play on a full 100-yard field like a standard NFL game, the two teams wound up using just 80 yards of the field, with the 10-yard line being used as the goal line. And rather than use kickoffs following scores, the ball was placed at the 15-yard line.

With that in mind, Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur opted to change his game plan. He initially planned to play his starters in what was his team's third preseason game. However, he opted to hold out a total of 33 players amid turf issues.

"We certainly have played on much worse surfaces in our life, but it was just one of those deals where they weren't playing their starters, and so we just decided to sit them," LaFleur said, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.

As a result, Rodgers has yet to play during the 2019 preseason.

There was no need to force the two-time NFL MVP into action for an exhibition, as he has dealt with a few injuries in recent years.

He was limited to seven games in 2017 due to a broken collarbone, and last year he played through a tibial plateau fracture and a sprained MCL after suffering the injury during the season opener.

Though Rodgers missed an Aug. 15 clash with the Baltimore Ravens because of back tightness, LaFleur previously said that there are "no long-term concerns" regarding the injury.