According to one report, the surface of the field at Dayton’s Welcome Stadium was the subject of scrutiny from Cincinnati Bengals staffers before A.J. Green went down with an injury in the team’s first training camp practice.
After Green left the field on a cart, Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported Bengals staff weren’t happy with the field:
But after working there for an hour on Saturday, several Bengals staffers were frustrated that Green’s injury happened on a field that they saw as subpar. One mentioned that players were sliding all over the place during what was a shorter-than-usual camp practice. Another saw pebbles lodged into the turf.
The Bengals had their first practice in Dayton to help the league honor its 100th season because it was viewed as one of 13 “Original Towns.” Things now shift back to the practice fields next to Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.
At this point, the “why” isn’t as important as the outcome. Green got mixed up with Dre Kirkpatrick down the field and whether that was a product of the field itself isn’t as important as whether Green is going to get back on the field anytime soon.
As of this writing, the team’s website expects Green to miss a “chunk of training camp,” though nothing is official.
