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The Seattle Seahawks walked off the field with a 22-16 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night, but they lost five players to injury over the course of the game. One of those players was Richard Sherman, who is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles.
Last year, Sherman penned a piece for The Player’s Tribune that was critical of Thursday Night Football, and after last night’s game, several members of the Seahawks also voiced their displeasure concerning the weekly ritual. Wide receiver Doug Baldwin didn’t mince words when asked about how he felt, saying:
“Thursday Night Football should be illegal. This shit should be illegal. It is not OK. It’s not OK. You can quote me on that.”
When one reporter tried to play Devil’s advocate, Baldwin quickly fired back.
I told Doug Baldwin that people have made the argument that the week and a half players get off after Thursday nights offsets the injury concerns. His response? "Tell them fu** you."
— Matt Calkins (@Matt_Calkins) November 10, 2017
Bobby Wagner was slightly less aggressive when asked about how he felt, but it’s clear he thinks the short turnaround time makes it harder to recover from previous games.
Bobby Wagner has a message for @NFL scheduling Thursday night games. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/GdTN3SB2TD
— Gregg Bell (@gbellseattle) November 10, 2017
Pete Carroll was also asked about how he felt about TNF at his post-game press conference, but he declined to respond, saying, “I don’t want to have to pay money.”
The Seahawks are far from the only people to be critical of Thursday Night Football—Richie Incognito called the games “bullshit” after the Bills lost to the Jets last week. The NFL has previously said they would consider reworking the schedule or eliminating the games altogether, which would undoubtedly be a crushing disappointment for the three people in the country who care about Color Rush jerseys.