The union representing NFL players has contacted the league to express the “outrage” of players over field conditions at Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, after several players complained Sunday after the Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns, 23-9.
“Honestly, it was s—,” Steelers defensive lineman and NFL PA rep Cameron Heyward said this week, as reported by The Athletic. “I lost one of my teammates (special teams captain Miles Killebrew).”
Killebrew sustained a non-contact knee injury in Sunday’s win that head coach Mike Tomlin called “significant.” Heyward suggested that the conditions played a role in the injury, which is expected to end Killebrew’s season.
Following the game, Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers called the field “borderline unplayable.”
“The NFLPA has conveyed its concern to the NFL and will work to ensure that players are not put in that position going forward,” a source told The Athletic.
As reported by Brooke Pryor of ESPN, some players said the field, which was already scheduled to be resodded after the game, was "dry." Steelers offensive lineman Broderick Jones was one of multiple players who said they "kicked up chunks of grass" when they made explosive movements.
Late in the game, kicker Chris Boswell’s plant foot got stuck in the turf as he attempted a 54-yard field goal. He missed.
League spokesperson Brian McCarthy said Wednesday that the NFL has "been in touch with both the union and the club, which has taken steps to replace the grass surface," The Athletic reported.
"The league has stated that there was no difference in injury rates between synthetic turf and grass playing surfaces last season," ESPN's Pryor reported. "There were also fewer ACL injuries last season on synthetic than grass surfaces, and there has been no difference so far this year."
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Monday that he thought the field’s condition was “poor,” adding, “I’m not concerned going forward. It’s my understanding that the turf is going to be swapped out. But I certainly acknowledge it was a concern yesterday.”
"A team spokesperson said that the grounds crew at Acrisure Stadium regularly replaces the sod a few times each season, and it was scheduled to be swapped out after the Browns-Steelers game," The Athletic's Mike DeFabo, Mike Jones and others reported. "It will be replaced again in late November, following four Pittsburgh-area high school football playoff games.
The University of Pittsburgh also plays its home games at the stadium, which opened in 2001, and short turnarounds between games have been a problem in the past. The next game at Acrisure Stadium will be Oct. 25, when Pitt hosts North Carolina State. The Steelers play the Packers on “Sunday Night Football” the following day.
