San Francisco 49ers players aren’t happy about the new turf at MetLife Stadium and seem to feel that it may have contributed to the potentially serious injuries the team suffered in Week 2 against the New York Jets.
Coach Kyle Shanahan said after the game that his players had been talking since the start of the game about how “sticky” the turf was. The players had concerns about how it would impact them.
#49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said players were discussing how "sticky" the artificial surface was at MetLife Stadium today. Said it was something they discussed throughout the game. Shanahan said "unfortunately" Niners have to play there again next week.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) September 20, 2020
This concern was backed up by defensive lineman Arik Armstead, who tweeted the NFL immediately after the game urging the league to fix the “trash” turf.
@nfl fix this trash met life turf . 2020 is so wack
— Arik Armstead (@arikarmstead) September 20, 2020
MetLife Stadium got new synthetic field turf during the offseason. It made its debut last Monday night when the Giants hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers. That game saw three Steelers players get hurt, including running back James Conner. On Sunday, the 49ers dealt with a gimpy Jimmy Garoppolo, as well as serious-looking injuries to both Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas.
As Shanahan noted, the 49ers are due to play at MetLife again next week when they face the New York Giants.
