(Photo by Peter Diana/Post Gazette)

As the National Football League prepares to kick off the start of the 2023 preseason at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, most eyes will be on the masses of young and hungry players on both the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets.

But while a game like this can help start lengthy NFL careers, it can just as easily end one. 

That was the tragic story of Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham. 

Suisham was a reliable and steady kicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers for years. Recording a field goal percentage of above 90% four of his five years as the starting kicker for the Steelers, Suisham was set to begin the 2015 season with Pittsburgh as well. 

But, appearing in the Hall of Fame Game for the Steelers to open the 2015 season, Suisham would suffer an injury that would effectively end his career. 

His story is the biggest example of the well-documented poor field conditions that the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium has been criticized for over the years. 

When the Steelers met the Minnesota Vikings for the Hall of Fame Game on August 9th, 2015, it would be the last game Suisham would ever play in. 

In the game, Suisham would kick a 36 yard field goal, which would stand as Pittsburgh’s only points in the 14-3 loss. 

However, opening the second half, Suisham tried to make a tackle, but as he was running up the field, the conditions caused him to slip and fall down awkwardly. He struggled to get up, and eventually had to be helped to the locker room where he could be evaluated. 

Suisham would end up having a torn ACL and cartilage damage, requiring surgery and a recovery process that would keep him out for the entire 2015 season. 

Soon after, Suisham would state he had no regrets about trying to make the tackle. 

“I’m playing football for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” he told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about three weeks later. “There’s never been a moment when I’ve been on a football field where I gave anything less than 100 percent.” 

“I’m just playing football the way I know how to play it,” he added. “Because I’m a kicker, in my mind, doesn’t change anything. We’re running under coverage, and there are 10 other guys trying to make a play, and I think it would be crazy for me not to do the same.”

He did express disappointment that he was injured, and blamed the field conditions for his injury. 

“I don’t think it was a surprise to anyone that someone was injured. Unfortunately for me, I ended up being the one hurt. It certainly wasn’t what we’ve grown accustomed to playing on in the NFL.”

Several teammates joined Suisham in criticizing the field conditions, and the following year, the NFL canceled the Hall of Fame Game entirely, citing poor field conditions as the reason. 

Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker said that some of the paint on the field was congealing and rubberized, meaning players could slip on the field. 

Steelers running back DeAngelo Williams tweeted out frustration over the decision to cancel the game in 2016, despite the poor field conditions also presenting themselves the previous year. Atlanta Falcons tight end Jacob Tamme described Suisham as a “martyr” in getting the game canceled. 

Tamme’s remarks were fitting; Suisham’s slip and subsequent ACL tear forced the NFL to look closer at the field conditions per year, now that a standout successful kicker had been taken out for a whole year in a preseason game. 

After the cancellation in 2016, the stadium got a revamped new field, which was designed to be much more safe for players, and was ready in time for the 2017 Hall of Fame Game. 

As for Suisham, the injury would end his professional career. He spent the entire 2015 season recovering, and with the rise of replacement kicker Chris Boswell, Suisham now had a training camp battle on his hands to reclaim his old job back from Boswell. 

However, that battle would never take place. The Steelers would end up releasing Suisham, a veteran of 10 NFL seasons, after he suffered a setback in his recovery and failed a physical. 

In the wake of the release, Suisham would release a statement in which he described his 2015 ACL tear as “catastrophic” and hindered him from continuing his NFL career. 

Though not officially retiring with that statement, Suisham would not play another game in the NFL, and finished his career as the most accurate kicker in Steelers franchise history (among players with more than 18 attempts). 
Since the 2016 renovation, the Hall of Fame stadium has experienced a second field replacement, which will make its debut on August 3rd when the Browns meet the Jets.