During Amazon Prime Video's "TNF Nightcap," Michael Smith discussed a "player-safety battle brewing between the league and the NFL Players Association," and a letter the NFLPA and board of player representatives sent to the NFL urging it to immediately remove slit-film turf surfaces being used by at six NFL stadiums, including the Bengals' home field.
Some argue that there is a significant difference in non-contact lower extremity injuries that have occurred on slit-film turf surfaces - used by the Bengals, the New York Giants and Jets (MetLife Stadium), Indianapolis Colts (Lucas Oil Stadium), Detroit Lions (Ford Field), Minnesota Vikings (U.S. Bank Stadium) and New Orleans Saints (Caesars Superdome) - compared to other turfs and natural grass surfaces.
"Statistically, there are higher in-game injury rates compared to other surfaces," Smith said. "Missed-time injuries, lower-extremity injuries, foot and ankle injuries."
"It needs to change immediately," Amazon analyst and NFLPA vice president Richard Sherman said during the show. "The league champions player safety. And when there's clear evidence of a playing surface being dangerous - there's nine more serious injuries on this surface than even other turfs - like, you need to change it now. You get on it immediately. There has been 15-18 more injuries just this season. So that data that they compiled hasn't included this season. … As a player, there's no reason for that kind of risk. These are outdoor stadiums. … They can change that. The indoor stadiums - cool, there's an argument there. But when you can change the surface, it should be grass. … Player safety is nonnegotiable."
"If you think about it, isn't it just the inconsistency that every single turf is different?" analyst and former Bengals star Andrew Whitworth added. "I mean you're already saying that we're not on the same page because how as a league do you know what's good turf if every one of your stadiums has different kinds of turf. So, y'all can't even agree on what the right kind of turf to put on the ground is. So to me you'd at least want to see - if you're gonna use turf, there's one uniform turf that we are saying is healthy and it's safer and whatever. But I don't think that's gonna happen. … I don't know if there's really a great answer other than we all know players who play the game like to play on grass. I feel like that's a pretty good argument."
Paycor Stadium's synthetic turf system, manufactured by Shaw Sports Turf and including Strenexe XD slit-film fibers, was installed ahead of the 2018 season.
NFL stars and former University of Cincinnati Bearcats standouts Travis and Jason Kelce addressed the topic earlier this week on their "New Heights" podcast:
A tweet from earlier this week from Green Bay Packers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell:
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