Steelers Now
The brutal field conditions at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday caused an uproar among Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns players. Players from both teams expressed “outrage” and concerns to the NFL Players Association about the “embarrassing” playing surface, a union source told ESPN.
“The NFLPA has conveyed its concern to the NFL and will work to ensure that players are not put in that position going forward,” the source told ESPN on Wednesday.
League spokesman 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.”
Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward believes that the significant knee injury suffered by All-Pro special teamer Miles Killebrew on Sunday was caused by the poor turf conditions at Acrisure Stadium.
Killebrew was injured while covering a kickoff in the second quarter of the Steelers’ 23-9 win over the Browns on Sunday.
While running down the middle of the grass field, which showed significant wear and tear on Sunday, Killebrew was blocked from his left side by Cleveland safety Rayshawn Jenkins. As he was passing behind another Cleveland player, his right leg gave way.
Killebrew limped to the sideline with help from team trainers and was taken from the field on a cart. He did not return to the game, and head coach Mike Tomlin called his knee injury “significant.”
Several players complained about the field conditions in the aftermath of Sunday’s game, most notably quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who called it “borderline unplayable.” Tomlin acknowledged that the conditions were “poor” when he spoke on Monday.
But Heyward was the first to publicly make the connection between the field conditions and Killebrew’s injury.
“Honestly, it was shit,” Heyward said on Tuesday. “I lost one of my teammates and that makes me sad about it.”
Heyward is the Steelers’ NFLPA union rep and a member of the executive committee. The player’s association has relentlessly advocated for grass fields over turf, citing increased player safety on the natural playing surface.
“I like grass, but that wasn’t grass we played on,” Heyward said.
In addition to Killebrew’s injury, the turf also caused Steelers kicker Chris Boswell to slip on his final kick attempt, and the team was fortunate that he escaped injury when he did so.
I thought it was poor yesterday,” Tomlin said Monday about the field conditions. “I’m not concerned going forward. It’s my understanding that that turf is going to be swapped out, but I certainly acknowledge it was a concern yesterday.”
The Steelers have already begun the process of replacing that particular grass field, which had been previously scheduled to take place this weekend, without a game being played at Acrisure Stadium. Seven games were played on that surface. The first game on the new field will be Saturday, Oct. 25, when Pitt hosts NC State. The Steelers will play the next day, on Sunday Night Football against the Green Bay Packers.
That turf field will also see the...
