NFL rules MetLife Stadium's turf OK to play after Niners' string of injuries
MetLife Stadium’s turf has received the NFL’s seal of approval five days after hosting a catastrophic day for the San Francisco 49ers.
The MetLife turf was found to be in line with standards for NFL playing surfaces, according to ESPN. The review was reportedly conducted on Wednesday by representatives from the NFL, NFLPA, MetLife Stadium, the New York Giants, the New York Jets, FieldTurf and an independent inspector.
That review comes after the turf in question made the wrong kind of headlines on Sunday, when the Niners saw five significant players exit a game against the Jets with lower leg injuries. Now, the team will be expected to play on the same field against the Giants in Week 3.
The Niners’ bad, bad day at MetLife
Even though the Niners beat the Jets 31-13 on Sunday, that game arguably hurt their Super Bowl chances even worse than their season-opening loss against the Arizona Cardinals.
Here’s a rundown of the players who had to leave the game Sunday, and when they can be expected to play again:
• QB Jimmy Garoppolo, week-to-week with high ankle sprain
• RB Raheem Mostert, likely out for Week 3 with MCL sprain
• RB Tevin Coleman, on IR with knee injury
• DE Nick Bosa, out for season with torn ACL
• DE Solomon Thomas, out for season with torn ACL
Add that to top receiver Deebo Samuel (foot) and All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman (calf) being on injured reserve, starting center Weston Richburg (knee) on the reserve/PUP list and All-Pro tight end George Kittle still dealing with a knee injury, and things are looking dire in San Francisco.
Multiple Niners players complained about the turf at MetLife after the game, and head coach Kyle Shanahan conveyed those concerns after the game. He did not sound thrilled that his team would be returning to the same field in a week:
“I don’t know exactly why it happened. As far as the feeling that was on the sidelines, that’s as many knee injuries and ankle stuff and people getting caught on the turf as I’ve ever been a part of. From what I saw, the other team did, too. I know our players talked about it the entire game, just how sticky the turf was, and I think that was the first time people played on it, I think. But yeah, it was something our guys were concerned about right away. And the results definitely made that a lot stronger.
“Unfortunately, this is a place we’ve got to go back to next week.”
The NFLPA echoed those concerns about the turf to Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson, but it now appears that we’ll just have to see if those same issues pop up again.
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