Players who took part in Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns were so upset about Acrisure Stadium’s field conditions that they filed complaints with the NFLPA, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
The news comes on the heels of Cam Heyward and Mike Tomlin criticizing field conditions. Per Florio:
“Per NFL Players Association sources, players from both teams almost immediately contacted the union to express ‘outrage’ about the “embarrassing” condition of the grass. The NFLPA has conveyed its concern to the NFL.”
Despite the Steelers not playing at home since Week 2 and the Pitt Panthers playing at Florida State last Saturday, the field was a mess on Sunday. The grass looked more like infield dirt than a football gridiron and it got progressively worse during the game.
By the second half, the grass between the hashmarks was completely torn up. It may have even contributed to SS Miles Killebrew suffering a severe knee injury, one that’s likely to knock him out for the rest of the season and could jeopardize his NFL career.
As shared during the broadcast, the Steelers planned to resod the field after the game. Photos of the grounds crew working the field appeared on social media in the hours and days following Sunday’s contest.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, DL Cam Heyward called the field “shit” and said he was “sad” over seeing Killebrew injured on it. During his Monday press conference, Mike Tomlin acknowledged conditions were “poor” though he said he was not concerned going forward.
Ben Roethlisberger floated the idea of the Pitt Panthers having their own on-campus stadium. Logistically, that could be tough in a cramped downtown Pittsburgh full of bridges. But had the field simply been resodded prior to the game, and there was plenty of time with decent weather, the field would’ve been in great shape. Pittsburgh could also invest in different types of grass that the Green Bay Packers and now Buffalo Bills use to keep their respective field in great shape.
While players are sharing their frustration, the Steelers aren’t likely to face any sort of punishment so long as the Acrisure field is in better shape the rest of the season. Pittsburgh has six more home games, the Panthers three, and the WPIAL championship games are held there each year (the field has traditionally been resodded after those games). Instead, the Steelers will be punished by the ignominy of being a professional franchise that produced a poor product this past Sunday.
