The NFL world and especially New York Jets fans were in shock on Monday night when Aaron Rodgers suffered an Achilles tear on his first offensive series with his new team. That's a serious gut punch for a team with Super Bowl aspirations and also shines a light on the countless injuries that have happened on turf.
Many players across the league have urged the NFL to get rid of turf surfaces like the ones at MetLife Stadium, Lumen Field, and Ford Field, to name a few. Following what turned out to be a heroic OT win for NY, several players, including Randall Cobb and Breece Hall, made it clear that it's time to have only grass surfaces.
Via Dianna Russini:
“We asked a bunch of Jets/Bills players about the turf at MetLife since it has a history of issues before Aaron Rodgers injury. New turf was put down before this season. RB Breece Hall who had a productive night, had the best answer. ”
“Grass. That’s my answer. We want grass”
Cobb meanwhile, shined a light on how the MLS has changed surfaces for Lionel Messi and also spoke on the Premier League protecting their players with only grass in England. Per Jori Epstein:
“I've never been a fan of turf. I never will be a fan of turf. It's crazy that the MLS will change stuff for Messi. Premier League will do everything they can to protect players with grass fields. But the NFL's more worried about making money. Profit over people.”
Darius Slay also had his two cents on the Aaron Rodgers matter:
“I had high hopes for him being in a new jersey. But then MetLife, everyone knows bout that goddamn stadium. They need to get real grass. That’s trash.
“It’s obvious to see – a lot of guys have season-ending injuries there.”
David Bakhtiari, Aaron Rodgers' former teammate, annihilated the NFL for artificial turf, too:
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!— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) September 12, 2023
Would Rodgers have gone down with the injury on grass? Who knows. But the reality is a lot of players have either torn their ACL or Achilles on turf.
Something needs to change.
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