Panthers WR DJ Moore Says Players Approached Owner David Tepper About Playing Surface

Will Tepper listen to his players?

Grass vs turf. 

If you asked players around the league which surface they prefer to play on, I think it's a safe bet to say the vast majority would say that a turf field should be banned. 

Over the last couple of years, the Panthers have seen several players go down to injury while playing on turf, and this past Sunday, they lost a key part of the secondary as CB Donte Jackson tore his Achilles and will be out for the remainder of the season. In addition to Jackson, the Panthers have seen three quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and now P.J. Walker, all suffer high ankle sprains at Bank of America Stadium.

According to Panthers WR DJ Moore, he and a handful of others approached team owner David Tepper about the preference to play on natural grass a few times, including back in training camp.

"We brought it up a few times but at the end of the day, he made that last call," said Moore. "We can only put our input in and hopefully, he hears us and he usually do hears us out on certain things. I know a lot of people want to play on grass, but we get paid to play football on any surface but at the end of the day, it's up to him."

Are the injuries related to playing on turf? Possibly. However, a recent study by IQVIA, a pharmaceutical company, shows that the injury rate on non-contact injuries are nearly identical on turf as they care on grass.

The biggest reason Tepper made the switch to turf was so that Bank of America Stadium could be the home of his new MLS team, Charlotte FC, along with being able to host concerts and other events. 

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