Vikings News: Randy Moss, Marcus Davenport, U.S. Bank Stadium, Packers in Week 17
By Adam Patrick
Vikings to install new playing surface after 2023 season
On Thursday, it was revealed that in 2024, Minnesota will be replacing the turf field that is currently inside U.S. Bank Stadium with a new material.
Currently, the Vikings play on slit film-style turf inside their home stadium, a turf that reportedly causes more non-contact injuries to players than any other playing surface in the league, according to the Star Tribune.
Instead of this surface, Minnesota will install a monofilament turf that reportedly causes fewer non-contact injuries than the slit-film style they currently utilize inside U.S. Bank Stadium.
It's possible that this was already planned, but one has to imagine the non-contact hamstring injury suffered by Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson inside the stadium earlier this season provided the organization with even more of an incentive to change the playing surface on their home field sooner rather than later.
Minnesota has two home games remaining on their 2023 regular-season schedule, and if they win the NFC North, they will have at least one playoff matchup played inside U.S. Bank Stadium. So, at the very least, the Vikings will have to play two more games on the slit-film turf before it's replaced during the offseason.