NFL Should Adopt Steelers Field Style Across All 30 stadiums

Injuries in the NFL are inevitable, but there are ways to help lessen the chances of injuries, and the Pittsburgh Steelers have done their part to help keep players safer on game days. While some other teams have done what the Steelers have, most still haven't done their part as they leave their own players at risk for severe injuries. It's a very simple field issue and now that the NFL is in its offseason and training camps are happening away from NFL stadiums, it's the perfect time for the rest of the league to change.

How Does The Steelers' Field Help?

The field at Acrisure Stadium is actual grass. Some other teams have either kept grass in their stadiums or moved back to grass after playing on artificial turf for a while and seeing poor results in terms of players getting injured.

Most of Steeler Nation remembers the Mud Bowl in 2007. The wear-and-tear from a long weekend of football games, mixed with a heavy downpour of rain caused the brand-new sod to gain the consistency of mud. The only reason to keep turf is that it's cheaper and easier to maintain, but there is a common saying about that: you get what you pay for.

Despite being in the middle of a desert, the Arizona Cardinals have managed to make a grass field work. Even though they have a retractable roof, they still have a way to "roll out" the grass from the stadium to the outside, while still finding ways to keep it watered. However, the NFL altered the way the Cardinals grass was set up for Super Bowl LVII, causing many players to have trouble with their footing during the big game. When it's done right, the grass at State Farm Stadium is among the best playing surfaces in the league.

This isn't just a limited issue with certain fields. JC Tretter, the head of the NFLPA, stepped in and demanded that certain teams should change their field, at least to a better turf, but preferably to grass. All the players have understood that they are much safer on grass than artificial turf. MetLife Stadium and Levi's Stadium are at least upgrading their turf, but that's more due to the fact that they will host some FIFA World Cup matches in 2026. The teams need to move to grass permanently.

Julian Edelman recently talked about the dangers of playing on a turf field, and some of the pros and cons of having turf fields over grass fields. Edelman has had his own pair of season-ending injuries, including one in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions. He blamed both of those injuries on the turf. This was all from an interview with Gilbert Arenas and reported by Pro Football Talk.

I tore my ACL on a [bad] turf in Detroit which was absolutely ridiculous...I broke my foot on a [bad] turf field in New York. This is a multi-billion dollar corporation and we can’t get grass?

He helped explain the differences between the two playing surfaces after that. He talked about how young players might benefit from it, but overall, turf fields are a terrible option for the game of football.

Arenas' podcast name was accurate in this scenario, as Edelman had no chill when talking about the turf.

"With turf there is nowhere for the energy to disperse... So, when you cut, everything is going straight into your knee and ankle. When you’re a younger player its awesome because you can cheat a cut...When you get to about 27 or 28, you go out and you have to practice on a turf field and your back locks up."

The choice is obvious, yet many teams still cling on to their turf fields for reasons of convenience. As mentioned before, soccer rules demand quality playing fields that many NFL stadiums won't provide. If the NFL truly cares about player safety, they'll listen to Edelman, the NFLPA, nearly every NFL player and even other sports, and ban the turf fields in favor of grass.

What do you think of the Steelers' usage of a grass field, as well as the call for others to switch to grass? Let us know in the comments below.

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