Kittle, Bosa join NFL peers in calling for safer fields

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It’s no secret that 49ers stars George Kittle and Nick Bosa, along with plenty of other NFL players, are fed up with the artificial turf in some of the league’s stadiums.

The pair has seen and suffered injuries because of the playing surface many have deemed unsafe, and both Kittle and Bosa on Saturday lent their voice to an online Twitter campaign calling for “#SaferFields” with real grass.

Other former and current NFL players chimed in, too.

Kittle and Bosa, along with 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel, have been outspoken about artificial turf in the past.

The trio advocated for the switch to natural grass back in February, with Kittle and Bosa sharing an online petition for the cause and Samuel tweeting his opinion on the topic.

It’s no surprise, either, as Bosa suffered a torn ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 NFL season while playing on artificial turf at MetLife Stadium. 

And just last month, Kittle sounded off on the playing surface yet again after the 49ers lost several players to injuries against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium in Week 5.

Most notably, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley sustained a season-ending ACL tear during that game.

“The thing that just confuses me is if you’re not going to mandate grass, then why aren’t turf fields the exact same turf so guys get used to playing on the same turf everywhere? But every field has a different turf,” Kittle told reporters that day. “And so you’re playing on a different surface. 

“NBA guys don’t play on different wood, what are we doing? Hockey guys don’t play on different ices all the time. It’s ice. So I just wish we played on a surface that was similar every single week in, week out so your body won’t just be dealing with different, crappy turf.”

But at least when they’re in front of their home crowd at Levi’s Stadium, Kittle and Bosa don’t have to worry about artificial turf.

“I’d much rather play on grass,” Kittle said after the Falcons game. “That’s why I love [49ers CEO] Jed York. We have the nicest grass in the NFL.”

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While it’s unclear if the NFL will follow York’s lead and require stadiums to have natural grass, there’s no denying Saturday’s Twitter campaign was the loudest the cause has been yet.

The players have made their opinion known, and loudly. Now all they can do is wait.

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