Turf Wars: Pete Carroll & Seahawks Angry About Injuries at Chargers' SoFi Stadium, Demand Change
The Seattle Seahawks walked away with an impressive 37-23 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7 ... but it came at a cost.
Seahawks star wideout DK Metcalf narrowly avoided what could have been a severe knee injury on Sunday, while not being the only player to go down in the contest. Chargers cornerback JC Jackson tore his ACL in the loss to Seattle, effectively ending his season. Meanwhile, wideout Mike Williams is now expected to miss at least the next four weeks due to an ankle injury for the Chargers as well.
This all happened on the same turf field in SoFi Stadium where receiver Odell Beckham Jr. tore his ACL in the Super Bowl. For the players in Seattle, enough is enough.
"You look at it, guys were just getting hurt left and right,” Seahawks safety Ryan Neal said after the game. “J.C. Jackson had a freakin’ crazy injury. Mike Williams. DK."
“You hate seeing stuff like that, anytime. It’s not even off people hitting somebody. It’s the freakin’ surface.”
Now, Seahawks safety Quandre Diggs is calling for complete elimination of artificial turf in the NFL.
“I’m not a big fan of the Rams-slash-Chargers’ field turf," Diggs said. "I think it’s slick. ... You see all these injuries — I think it was the Giants’ stadium, Giants’ and Jets’ stadium a few years ago, where all those teams, the 49ers went out there and had guys with ACLs and all types of stuff."
“So you see that and you just kind of wonder: Why can’t we have natural grass everywhere?”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is also ready for change amidst mounting injuries.
"I think we definitely need to look at this really seriously in the offseason again," Carroll said at Wednesday's practice. "It's been a discussion before. We've got to do what's right, and we've got to do what's safest for the players, and we've got to make those choices. I would pound on the drum for that."
Whether the NFL visits the issue of artificial turf this offseason is yet to be seen. However, player safety appears at stake in an issue it seems the players will refuse to let go quiet.
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