Each year, several players suffer tough injuries — it’s part of the game. However, George Kittle believes the NFL has not taken proper care of players’ health, even though it could.
Football, as a contact sport, cannot completely avoid injuries — players understand that. Nevertheless, injuries have become more frequent in recent years, and George Kittle believes he knows the reason behind it.
The star tight end of the San Francisco 49ers recently addressed the multiple injuries his team has suffered. He thinks the NFL should pay more attention to the fields, their conditions, and how players can better prepare for each game.
George Kittle believes the NFL should standardize playing surfaces
In the NFL, there are 15 stadiums with synthetic turf and 15 with natural grass. The Jets and Giants share MetLife Stadium, and the Chargers and Rams share SoFi Stadium — both with turf.
According to George Kittle, this is the main reason why more and more players are getting injured. The star tight end doesn’t believe turf is inherently bad, but switching every week between synthetic and natural grass could be the reason behind the increase in severe injuries in recent years.
Kittle has a point. Players usually train on the playing surface of their home stadium, and when they travel to play on a different surface, they often have to change cleats or adjust their preparation. This inconsistency prevents them from having a standardized way to train and perform each week.
“My only issue is with is, like, when someone’s field is, like, the butt of a joke throughout all of social media, constantly, like on every NFL meme page, everybody jokes about how bad it is, I feel like at that point, someone should just take a look at it, and let’s not make it a — no NFL field should be the butt of a joke, ever,” George Kittle said about MetLife Stadium’s surface.
Mykel Williams of the 49ers is the perfect example. Levi’s Stadium, home of the 49ers, uses natural grass. This weekend, they visited the Giants at MetLife Stadium, and the rookie defensive end had to leave the game due to a torn ACL, probably due to not preparing correctly for synthetic turf.
Natural grass or synthetic turf — what will the NFL choose first for all stadiums?
Standardizing all 30 NFL stadiums is a very challenging task. Some use natural grass due to favorable weather conditions, while others prefer synthetic turf because it’s easier to maintain.
If the NFL ever decides to standardize the playing surface, it’s more likely to be synthetic turf. Not all venues have the proper weather conditions to sustain natural grass, especially those located in rainy or snowy regions.