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Rodgers says Cobb's punctured lung caused by being mic'd up

Tom Lynn / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers says teammate Randall Cobb suffered a punctured lung in the Packers' playoff loss to the Arizona Cardinals not only as the result of a football play but also because of technology.

Specifically, Rodgers told former teammate A.J. Hawk on the latter's YouTube show "The HawkCast" that Cobb's injury was caused by him being fitted with a microphone for the game and later falling on that microphone pack.

"Randall Cobb had a serious injury last year in a playoff game and I believe, as I think he would as well and the team, that that was caused from him being mic'd up," Rodgers explained. "Because he fell on his mic pack and he had an injury to his insides that kept him out of the game and probably would have kept him out of the rest of the playoffs. The puncture spot, or the injury spot, was directly adjacent to his mic pack."

Here's the play in question:

Cobb got up coughing up blood and exited the game. He said after that he suspected his mic pack might have been involved.

"The battery pack for the mic was on my shoulder pads. I landed flush on my back during the catch, and I punctured my lung," Cobb said at the time. "There's no way to prove that, but it's kind of crazy that I punctured a lung without fracturing my rib."

Apparently Rodgers is convinced Cobb's theory is precisely what happened.

Rodgers also said that he dislikes being mic'd up himself, and the overall intrusion of technology into football, because it takes away some of what makes football real.

“When I’m mic'd up, it takes away from the authenticity of the game for me. I don't feel comfortable mic'd up," he said.

Rodgers' entire interview, which clocks in just shy of two hours long, is below:

- With h/t to Pro Football Talk

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