NFL exec: Goal is more uniform playing surfaces

NEW YORK — Turf vs. grass: It’s complicated.

The topic is under discussion at this week’s NFL owners meetings, where league officials say recent research on playing surfaces in stadiums is “off to a good start.” But that comes with inherent challenges — mainly, 30 NFL stadiums have a wide variety of fields, making it “hard to make a strong recommendation against any one thing,” vice president of health and safety Jeff Miller said.

The NFL Players Association has made clear it prefers grass, calling it “simply safer” in a September statement.

“I think the goal needs to be to limit the number of different surfaces that our clubs play on, so a player has an appreciation when he steps onto the field in one city that’s going to feel very similar to the surface that he steps on in a different city so it doesn’t feel hard or soft or slick or sticky,” Miller said. “He knows what that’s going to feel like, therefore the appreciation for it is going to satisfy him to some degree.”

The NFL does not have a uniformed policy on the types of surfaces used in league cities. The NFLPA is mandated in the collective bargaining agreement to work with the NFL on best practices.

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson are among star players to suffer significant injuries on turf this season, amplifying the discussion leaguewide.

Miller added initiatives on playing surfaces will “change substantially’ over the next three years, including potential involvement with FIFA, which is playing several soccer games in NFL stadiums in the coming years.

The NFL shares its research with teams, which can choose unilaterally to make changes. This year, three NFL teams (Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota, Cincinnati Bengals) use slit film turf, considered the most controversial. The Jets, Detroit Lions and New York Giants replaced slit film with a different synthetic this offseason, and the Colts will switch theirs in 2024.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said on ESPN’s “First Take” last month that opinions are “mixed” on the matter and that some players prefer the speed benefits of turf. The league will lean into science for more answers.

“We’re trying to understand injuries at a much more fundamental level, not just grass vs artificial,” said Dr. Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer, citing footwear, exposure and workload management as factors. “What is it about the field that relates to injury?”

In other news from the NFL owners meetings:

• The new kickoff rule allowing touchbacks from inside the end zone has produced an 80% touchback rate through the first six weeks. “Nobody in the league would say that’s successful,” said Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, who heads the competition committee. “It’s what we knew would happen. We achieved the one thing we needed to achieve, which is take the play with a high collision rate and reduce concussions. But we’ve made it a bit more ceremonial than it should be.” League officials say they are still discussing alternatives, including the XFL method, but there are no concrete changes at this stage. The current kickoff rule was approved for one year.

• The hip-drop tackle is a major issue the league will address. It has 25 times the injury risk of a normal tackle, according to NFL research. “It’s an unforgiving behavior and one we need to try to define and get it out of the game,” said Miller, who called it the “cousin of the horse collar.”

• Guardian caps in the preseason have greatly reduced head injuries, down 46% compared with the three-year average. Could they be a part of the game-day helmet one day? Seems plausible, if not inevitable. The benefits are too great. “We’re already seeing that innovation take place,” Sills said.

• McKay on the “tush push” play made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles: “Will we talk about it again? I’m sure of it. I’m not in the predicting business of what that means.”

• The league approved the proposal to hold all in-person head coach interviews after the conclusion of the divisional playoff games, effective this season. The move was made “in an effort to create a more level playing field for head coach candidates.” Internal candidates and college coaches would be exempt. The new rule applies to the next two cycles. Teams can conduct virtual interviews with candidates during the early playoff window. The hope is that it enhances diversity. “A more intentional process produces diverse results,” league executive Dasha Smith said. Teams filling a head coach vacancy last year spent an average of 26 days before officially making a hire, compared with 13 days a few years ago. The NFL likes that trend. “The process is slowing down, which is one of our goals,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said.