Former NFL linebacker DeMeco Ryans filed a lawsuit against the Houston Texans and the NFL, seeking damages of more than $10 million, due to an Achilles tendon injury he suffered on the playing surface at NRG Stadium effectively ending his career in 2014.
On Friday, Harris County District Court in Texas filed a lawsuit against StrathAyr and SMG, the companies that manage NRG Stadium, also known as the Harris County Sports Convention Corporation.
The lawsuit claims that if it wasn’t for the injury Ryan suffered, a torn Achilles tendon due to the playing surface at NRG Stadium on Nov. 2, 2014, it is highly likely that his remarkable NFL career would have continued for another five years, but unfortunately it ended prematurely.
The Texans informed ESPN that they would not provide any statements regarding the ongoing legal proceedings.
Ryans, who was not signed as a free agent, was ultimately released by the team in February of last year due to a decline in his performance after suffering an injury in 2015. During that season, he participated in 14 games for the Eagles. The injury, which was not caused by contact, led to his placement on the injured reserve list in 2014.
The Texans switched to playing on AstroTurf in the last 3 weeks of the season, replacing the artificial turf on which they were originally playing. The grass field, created by Systems Turf StrathAyr, was grown outside the stadium and then placed onto the playing surface using a forklift. This change in playing surface occurred at the time of Ryans’ injury.
According to the lawsuit filed on Nov. 2, 2014, the seams where the Modules intersected, which were filled with sand, seemed to resemble holes. Additionally, the field’s surface was uneven as certain Modules were soft, some were firm, and they did not fit together properly.
The lawsuit cites widespread complaints by NFL players about the playing surface at NRG Field, which prompted the Texans to change the surface before the game on November 2, 2014 due to significant noncontact injuries caused by the field.
The lawsuit claims that the management and owners of the Texans showed no real concern because Wes Welker, who was a wide receiver for the then-New England Patriots, suffered a knee injury in January 2010.
Brett Hartmann was just a punter for the Texans-Then, and he didn’t really care about what happened to him in the NFL because he had been in the league for a long time.
The lawsuit claims that Clowney, the Texans’ linebacker who was chosen as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, suffered a knee injury in his first NFL game, which limited him to only four games in his rookie season. Swearinger, Clowney’s teammate, then informed him that he was injured after he landed on a “hole” in the turf. The lawsuit also alleges that the team did not care about the situation.
“At that moment, and exclusively at that moment, it was the appropriate time for Defendants to resolve the issue,” the lawsuit declares.