The Bengals are hoping to have avoided the worst with wide receiver A.J. Green’s ankle injury.
But they were also worried about the conditions of their field before it happened.
According to Albert Breer of SI.com, “several Bengals staffers” were concerned about the surface of the field at the University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium, which “they saw as subpar.” There were mentions of other players sliding on the surface.
They held their first practice of the season in Dayton as part of the league’s 100th-year celebration, since Dayton was the home of the league’s first game.
Whether the grass had anything to do with the sprained ankle was unclear, but football people are creatures of habit, and anything outside their normal conditions is going to trigger their alarms.