Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence typically prefers grass fields to artificial turf. But when his team meets the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he isn’t worried at all about the London stadium’s turf surface. In fact, he’s a little glad it’s not grass.
“I usually prefer playing on grass, but the grass over here is a little bit different,” Lawrence told reporters Wednesday. “Especially for the soccer field, it’s a little bit slicker. I don’t know if that’s intentionally just for the ball, I’m sure, rolls better on it. Our grass is different in the states.
“I prefer grass in the states. I think here, turf is a little better for footing and cutting and all that stuff. Probably turf I prefer, so the guys don’t slip as much. Either way, I don’t think it poses a big issue.”
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Premier League matches are played on a natural grass surface. But when the venue hosts NFL games, the playing field splits and rolls into a garage. The American football games are then played on the turf field underneath.
The NFL Player’s Association has made a push for teams to ditch artificial turf fields which tend to cause more injuries. In the Jaguars’ last two trips to MetLife Stadium to play the New York Jets, they lost running back James Robinson and pass rusher Dawuane Smoot to torn Achilles tendons.
The Jaguars’ EverBank Stadium has used a natural grass surface since it opened in 1995.
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