Former NFL Star Blames Turf for Jameson Williams's Injury

After losing John Metchie in the SEC championship win over Georgia, Alabama's other 1,000-yard wide receiver, Jameson Williams, went down in the first half of Monday night's national championship loss to the Bulldogs. The injury, which Nick Saban speculated was a torn ACL after the game, took away Bryce Young's top weapon, which proved to be massive as the defensive slugfest turned into a bit of a shootout in the fourth quarter.

Georgia came out on top, 33–18 to capture its first national title since the 1980 season.

Williams had four receptions for 65 yards before exiting Monday's contest, catching a 40 yard pass from Young on the play where he suffered the injury. He finished his junior year with 79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Williams began his college career at Ohio State, the alma mater of former NFL standout Santonio Holmes. After the injury, Holmes took to Twitter to blame the playing surface at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Holmes believes artificial turf played a role in the end of his career in 2014, at just 30 years old.

“I ended my career playing on that bulls---. Turf is a trash, worst thing to ever happen to football,” he said. 

Holmes went on to clarify that he wasn't talking about Lucas Oil Stadium specifically, but all artificial turf fields. According to the Colts website, at least 23 of the 32 NFL stadiums use the same turf as their stadium.

The former Buckeye emerged as a star for the Steelers in the 2000s, winning Super Bowl XLIII MVP after catching nine passes for 131 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals.

Holmes suffered a Lisfranc injury in 2012 at Metlife Stadium against the 49ers, which cost him all but four games that season. He went on to play just 18 more games over the next two seasons, finishing his career in 2014.

Hopefully Williams will recover fully from his injury in time for the 2022 NFL season. Alabama's wideout is projected by many to be a first-round selection in the 2022 draft.