Tyler Boyd Rightfully Calls Out Bengals for Playing on Awful Turf at Training Camp
By Jerry Trotta
Less than 24 hours after AJ Green was carted off the Bengals practice field with an apparent ankle injury, it was reported that the superstar wideout tore ligaments in his ankle and is expected to miss Cincinnati's regular season opener against the Seahawks.
Training camp injuries, though far too prevalent for our liking, are really just an unfortunate reality of life in the NFL. And Green has dealt with a handful of lower leg ailments across his eight seasons in the league.
However, this particular injury might be the cause of the field itself. According to fellow pass catcher Tyler Boyd, the Bengals are playing on a woeful turf that allegedly made it nearly impossible to run a crisp and explosive route.
Tyler Boyd on the field in Dayton yesterday. Not holding back: "Turf was terrible. I couldn't run any routes. I was falling all over. It was bad. There was rock, pebbles out there. It was somewhere we shouldn't have been." #bengals
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) July 28, 2019
Thank you, Boyd. Thank you for saying what needs to be said. If the field -- Welcome Stadium in Dayton, OH -- is as bad as he says it is, then a professional franchise shouldn't come anywhere close to practicing on it.
That wasn't all the former Pittsburgh Panthers star had to say, however.
More from Boyd. "It was pretty level, I just feel like the turf was old. We didn't get good traction in and out of our breaks. A lot of guys, not just me, was on the ground."
— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) July 28, 2019
Malone simply added, "It was bad."#Bengals
As he generally does, ESPN's Adam Schefter provided some insight on the predicament and confirmed that the Bengals cleared the field as adequate enough for their camp.
More on the decision to practice at the University of Dayton where A.J. tore ligament in his ankle Saturday: Bengals cleared the football field for use in the end, per source. Team did a site survey there and confirmed it was good to go.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 28, 2019
Are we blaming the University of Dayton for Green's injury? Absolutely not. But it would be irresponsible on our part to swiftly ignore the timely coincidence and slight the Bengals for permitting their players to practice there.
We sure know where AJ's teammates stand on the matter.