The Buffalo Bills are in the early days of breaking in their new stadium, and while fans have had some complaints, so, too, have the players. In the preseason opener on Saturday, the grass on the field at Highmark Stadium was thrashed, with chunks becoming dislodged by the action, reports Tim Graham of The Athletic. A couple spots kind of chunked up a little bit, but it’s better than playing on (artificial) turf.
You can see some of the grass kind of mound up and guys knocking it back down, but I’ve had no traction problems so far.” That "better than turf" belief is one many players share. After some NFL stadiums had to replace their turf with grass for the 2026 World Cup, prominent players reiterated their stance that playing on grass is far superior to turf. "What I've learned from turf is that I am significantly more sore the day after," said star San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle earlier this year.
"Your feet, your ankles, your knees, your hips — everything's just more sore, and it takes you a couple more days to bounce back." Kittle isn't claiming that players won't be sore from contact; that's unavoidable. Instead, they won't also be sore from simply running on the field. "You don't have that ankle stiffness, those knees, the hips.
I've been feeling that since I was a rookie," he said. As Graham detailed, the NFL Players Association revealed that 92% of players prefer grass, even though half the league uses turf. One of those teams that uses turf is the Carolina Panthers, the Bills' opponents on Saturday.
Star running back Jonathon Brooks seems to follow Williams' strategy: Admit the grass isn't perfect, but at least it's not turf. "It was actually pretty good,” he said.
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