NFL players blame Jets' artificial turf for Aaron Rodgers injury
They knew it was a problem last year. They knew it was a problem the year before. And the year before that. And their solution was to put a band-aid over a bullet wound. Players have been calling to get rid of artificial turf for years now. And now, the New York Jets lost their […]
They knew it was a problem last year. They knew it was a problem the year before. And the year before that. And their solution was to put a band-aid over a bullet wound.
Players have been calling to get rid of artificial turf for years now. And now, the New York Jets lost their future Hall of Fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers for the year, and quite possibly forever. All thanks to a simple step in the wrong place on the wrong surface.
MetLife Field was converted this offseason from one type of synthetic field to a different type of synthetic field instead of changing it to natural grass.
The NFL Players Association's new executive director has called for the league to change all of its field surfaces to natural grass in the wake of Rodgers' season-ending injury in a statement released this week.
"Moving all stadium fields to high quality natural grass surfaces is the easiest decision the NFL can make," Howell said. "The players overwhelmingly prefer it and the data is clear that grass is simply safer than artificial turf. It is an issue that has been near the top of the players' list during my team visits and one I have raised with the NFL."
The NFLPA released data earlier this year that concluded non-contact injuries occurred at a higher rate on artificial turf compared to grass during the 2022 regular season. But internal league data showed that the NFL's recent rate of non-contact injuries to the knee, ankle and foot was roughly the same on natural and artificial playing surfaces.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said at the time that the NFL has no plans to convert all playing surfaces to grass, saying the "league stats don't see issues with the type surface that we have as opposed to natural grass."
Players, on the other hand, believe that the artificial turf is an issue. Rodgers’ ex-teammate with the Green Bay Packers, David Bakhtiari, put out a social media post blasting the NFL's use of artificial turf.
"Congrats @nfl. How many more players have to get hurt on ARTIFICIAL TURF??! You care more about soccer players than us. You plan to remove all artificial turf for the World Cup coming up. So clearly it's feasible. I'm sick of this..Do better!"
Bakhtiari is referring to the fact that any artificial turf field that will be used in the 2026 World Cup needs to be converted to natural grass for the games to be played on it and the owners agreed.
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay also weighed in, ripping the quality of the MetLife Stadium surface.
"MetLife, everybody knows about that god damn stadium. They need to get real grass. That's trash. That's sad for anybody to go down because we play this dangerous game, man. Everybody thinks we're superheroes, but we're really not."
Hall of famer Joe Thomas also believes the field had something to do with Rodgers’ injury. "I don't think this injury happens on a grass field," Thomas wrote on X.
If we look at some of the more serious injuries from recent years, they all seem to have artificial turf in common. Just last year, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dawuane Smoot tore his Achilles playing in MetLife during Week 16. Odell Beckham Jr. in the Super Bowl. Artificial turf. Even going back to the 90's Jets fans will remember Vinny Testeverde. Artificial turf.
How about Tua Tagovialoa's concussion? Artificial turf. That isn't to say he wouldn't have gotten a concussion on natural grass, but anyone who knows will tell you it wouldn't have been nearly as bad.
At this point it seems like the only more important to owners than player safety which they constantly preach and change the game for, is money. The bottom line. Yes, it will be more expensive to maintain a grass field and it will be a little tougher to use the field for other events. But this is a concessions owners need to make.
If you owned a restaurant and every chef you asked preferred a certain type of pan, you wouldn’t ignore them because your data shows there isn’t much of a difference. So, if every player is screaming out that the playing surface matters, why wouldn’t you listen to them?
Now what for the Jets at quarterback?
The Jets are interested in adding a quarterback after Aaron Rodgers and there are some options they clearly need to stay away from.
Featured image via Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
