NFL player drops concerning quote after playing first preseason game at Buffalo Bills’ new stadium
The Buffalo Bills played the Carolina Panthers in the first preseason game at the new Highmark Stadium on Saturday.
After 53 seasons at Ralph Wilson Stadium (which became Highmark Stadium in 2021), the Buffalo Bills have a new home in 2026.
The new Highmark Stadium, located across the street from the since-demolished Ralph Wilson Stadium, hosted its first NFL preseason game on Saturday when the Bills took on the Carolina Panthers.
And the players had some thoughts on the grass playing surface.
NFL players overwhelmingly prefer playing on grass over turf, but the new Highmark Stadium’s grass had some issues with wear on Saturday.
One anonymous player told The Athletic that the new field is “ass” at the moment.
“The field is ass right now,” said the player. “But it’s early.”
Not everyone, though, had negative things to say about the grass.
“The grass looked good,” said Bills linebacker Dorian Williams. “It was cool. A couple spots kind of chunked up a little bit, but it’s better than playing on turf. The kinks will keep getting worked out. 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.”
Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks said it was “lumpy” but otherwise good.
“It was actually pretty good,” said Brooks. “It was a little lumpy out there, but it wasn’t bad. The grass felt good.”
There are always going to be adjustments when a new stadium opens — especially after the first game action the field sees. And grass, of course, isn’t as easy to manipulate, so it may take the grounds crew a bit to get things exactly right.
The players, though, are clearly happy to be playing on a grass surface instead of turf.
