Getty Tracy Walker reacts to a play in a 2022 game.
The Detroit Lions have struggled in a big way with injuries this season, and one of the biggest ones they have sustained was to safety Tracy Walker.
Walker went down early in the season with an ACL injury, and has been rehabbing to get himself back for the 2023 season since.
@CalaisCampbell @NFL It’s crazy because I tore my Achilles on Minnesota field. They got to do something ASAP!!
“It’s crazy because I tore my Achilles on Minnesota field. They got to do something ASAP!!,” Walker tweeted.
@BookOfEli_NFL @NFL Yeaa they have to because I tore my Achilles on Minnesota trash a** field
“Yeaa they have to because I tore my Achilles on Minnesota trash a** field,” Walker tweeted later.
With the amount of injuries being sustained on field turf and the outcry of players, it’s clear that a conversation may have to be had in the offseason about this issue. It doesn’t seem as if this is going to be going away any time soon.
Packers Linebacker Also Called out Ford Field Turf
Linebacker De’Vondre Campbell is no fan of Ford Field, either. After a Week 9 struggle with injuries for the Packers, Campbell went straight to blaming the venue and more specifically, field turf in general after the contest was over.
Campbell’s tweet came after a barrage of injuries happened during the game, and a common thread was cited by him as it relates to the why as he called on the league to act in the future.
This is two weeks in a row we’ve had players get injured on turf fields. 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
“This is two weeks in a row we’ve had players get injured on turf fields. 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,” Campbell tweeted.
The more injuries there are across the league, the worse it gets for advocates of field turf. The players are clearly frustrated right now with what’s going on.
NFLPA President Calls for Natural Grass Change
The thought that artificial surfaces need to go is a common idea around the league with players right now, and NFLPA President JC Tretter recently penned a piece on why he sees that as the case.
As Tretter wrote at NFLPA.com, the NFLPA has advocated for the removal of all artificial surfaces across the league. In terms of the reason why, data shows that injuries including non-contact injuries are a lot less common for natural grass, and player upkeep is much easier.
“The data supports the anecdotes you’ll hear from me and other players: artificial turf is significantly harder on the body than grass. Based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, not only was the contact injury rate for lower extremities higher during practices and games held on artificial turf, NFL players consistently experienced a much higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries on turf compared to natural surfaces. Specifically, players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf. Of those non-contact injuries, players have a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a staggering 69% higher rate of non-contact foot/ankle injuries on turf compared to grass,” Tretter said in the piece.
Whether the league goes with this or not in the future remains to be seen, but it’s obvious that this conversation is one that will be coming to the forefront in the years ahead. That’s especially true the more big-name players sound out about their frustrations.