PFT: Derek Carr's Camp 'Relieved' Saints QB's Injury Happened on Grass, Not Turf

People close to New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr pointed to one silver lining from his shoulder injury in Sunday's 18-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers, according to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

"There's also a sense of relief in Carr's camp regarding the ground on which the injury occurred," Florio reported Monday. "It happened on the non-frozen non-tundra of Lambeau Field, one of the best playing surfaces in the NFL. If he had slammed his upper body against less forgiving artificial turf, which does not absorb forces but ricochets them back into the body, it could have been much worse for Carr."

Carr was knocked out of Sunday's game in the third quarter after getting hit in the pocket and landing hard on his right shoulder. Fortunately for he and the Saints, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the injury isn't as serious as it initially looked.

Florio's comes amid the wider discourse over the continued use of artificial playing surfaces in the NFL.

As far back as September 2020, NFL Players Association president JC Tretter was lobbying for the league to have natural grass installed at all of its stadiums. Tretter renewed the call in April while questioning publicly released data from the NFL that claimed artificial turf didn't pose a substantially higher injury risk to players than grass.

However, Aaron Rodgers' Achilles injury has amplified those concerns. The New York Jets star was playing at home in MetLife Stadium, which has had its own issues with the playing surface.

For now, the owners aren't incentivized to disrupt the status quo.

Owners like artificial turf because it allows them to more easily schedule tentpole events outside of the NFL calendar, such as a Taylor Swift or Beyoncé concert. The current collective bargaining agreement runs through 2030 as well, so the players don't have much in the way of leverage right now.

Until then, it might come down to the luck of the draw with injuries like the one for Carr.