Earl Thomas concedes Aaron Rodgers played NFC Championship game hurt

Leading up to the NFC Championship game, Earl Thomas was one of several Seattle Seahawks players questioning whether or not Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was actually dealing with a calf injury.

But in a blog post reflecting on the Seahawks' playoff run, Thomas says that he now believes Rodgers did in fact play the game hurt. 

"I have to give Rodgers a lot of credit. Going into the game, after watching the tape of their game against Dallas, I honestly didn't think he was that injured," Thomas wrote on his official website. "I was preparing for the real Aaron Rodgers, not the hurt Aaron Rodgers.

"But that guy was really hurt out there. Going against him in the game, I could tell immediately that he was really in pain. And it sounds funny, but that actually caught me off-guard. Now that I'm dealing with an injury of my own, I have even more respect for him and what he did. A tremendous amount of respect."

Thomas, who has never missed a game in his five-year NFL career, dislocated his shoulder during the NFC Championship and has been limited in practice as a result. He is expected to play in Sunday's Super Bowl, though.