Green Bay Packers linebacker De’Vondre Campbell wants the NFL to rethink its decision to use artificial turf versus natural grass on the fields at stadiums across the country after injuries have affected his beleaguered team. Campbell posted his thoughts on the issue to Twitter after his teammate Rashan Gary suffered a season-ending injury.
“This is two weeks in a row we’ve had players get injured on turf fields,” Campbell posted. “I think it’s time y’all take some of the money y’all make off us and invest in grass fields for every team around the league. The turf is literally like concrete it has no give when you plant @NFL”
De'Vondre Campbell with a message to the NFL 🗣 pic.twitter.com/8vl0Uxt8yZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 7, 2022
There is no set rule for real grass versus artificial turf in the NFL, and it is up to each stadium to decide. Sixteen NFL stadiums have real grass. Nine of them have Bermuda grass, four have Kentucky bluegrass, two have Desso Grassmaster, and one has a combination of different grasses, per reports.
The Detroit Lions’ home turf of Ford Field has FieldTurf Classic HD. In contrast, the Packers Lambeau Field uses Desso GrassMaster, real grass.
Following the team’s 15-9 Sunday loss to the Detroit Lions, the team confirmed on Monday that Gary sustained a torn ACL in his right knee during the third quarter of the game. Replays showed that the injury was not the result of contact but came as Gary pivoted to reverse his field on a pass to the right flat. Gary ranked 13th in the NFL in sacks with six and was second in pressures per pass-rushing snap.
“It’s a tremendous loss,” Packer coach Matt LaFleur said. “Not only just from obviously a production standpoint, (but) he is a guy that just competes at the highest level. He is one of the grittiest guys that’s on this team. Just the effort that he brings on a daily basis is definitely going to be missed. The other guys around on that defense and on our team are going to have to pick it up because it’s hard to replace a guy like that.”
BREAKING: Patriots traded 2 2024 first-round picks to the Packers for LB De’Vondre Campbell and a 2024 second-round pick.
Welcome to New England, De’Vondre! pic.twitter.com/IFlXAaOwGB
— New England Patriots (@NewEngIandPat) November 9, 2022
Additionally, Packers cornerback Eric Stokes suffered an apparent ankle injury during the first quarter of the same game, leading to Campbell’s frustration.
Stokes suffered knee and ankle injuries, and LaFleur stressed that he was the player the team medical staff was most concerned about being lost for the remainder of the season. Stokes was the Packers’ 2021 first-round draft pick.
#Packers Rashan Gary, torn ACL, out for the season. We've had numerous former NFL players tell us turf, like the surface inside Ford Field, is like playing football on your living room carpet. ILB De'Vondre Campbell is frustrated by the long list of his teammates injured Sunday. https://t.co/5WNUtBiRCa
— Mike Clemens (@MikeClemensNFL) November 8, 2022
“I can’t rule that out yet,” LaFleur said. “We’re still doing some further tests, getting some more information.”
Packers rookie wide receiver Romeo Doubs also sustained a high-ankle sprain on his 18-yard catch on the opening drive of the same game. Although the injury will sideline him probably for four to six weeks, it isn’t season-ending.
Campbell wants real grass to be ubiquitous across the NFL, but with little to practically no maintenance required for the artificial turf, it will be a hard sell across the league.
