Opinion: Turf fields are causing too many issues in the NFL

Over the last few years, a controversy has struck the NFL on a subject that is gaining popularity as more and more “non-contact” injuries surface the league. That controversy, of course, is playing on turf fields.

This subject escalated quickly after Super Bowl LVII, where the Philadelphia Eagles faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs. Which led to a quote by Eagles' former pass rusher Haason Reddick, “I’m not going to lie, it was the worst field that I’ve ever played on.”

During this game, the conditions of the field were very slippery and players couldn’t find their footing.

Fast-forward to today and non-contact and turf-related injuries are a very common theme and it raises the question, should the NFL just convert to grass fields?

Before I cast my opinion on this subject, I am going to highlight a few injuries that have been caused by non-contact or turf fields.

The two most popular this year is Cincinnati Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow who suffered grade three turf toe and New York Giants star receiver Malik Nabers, who suffered a torn ACL.

In week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Burrow dropped back to pass and was swarmed by multiple Jaguars defenders. As a result of this, Burrow’s foot dragged along the turf, creating the injury and which was later diagnosed as torn.

This injury will cause one of the league's best quarterbacks to be sidelined for at least three months.

Another injury highlighted earlier was Giants receiver Malik Nabers. During a week four game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Nabers ran a go route and as he braced to jump for the ball his ACL tore, resulting in him getting season-ending knee surgery.

Those are just two of many injuries that have happened because of turf and/or non-contact. Some other notable injuries that happened recently were Odell Beckham Jr., Najee Harris, Austin Eckeler, and Jaelan Phillips.

As each year goes on on these types of injuries continue to happen and with these events, fans have to watch their teams without some of the league's best players and therefore resulting in a hit in the entertainment aspect each week.

With more research coming out each year on injury-specific subjects, I think it is important to find a way to solve this problem, where the league is without its best players for a substantial amount of time and putting each team’s season in jeopardy.

Moving forward, I would like to see the NFL move to all grass fields because it will put less stress on the players’ bodies and it will limit a lot of non-contact/turf-related injuries. This will put the league in a better spot and have the best athletes on the field.

Peyton Waddell is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him please email him at prw5142@psu.edu.