Getty Image
Not even 12 hours after the likely season-ending injury to his quarterback Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets cornerback DJ Reed hopped onto Twitter to implore the league to replace the turf at MetLife Stadium with real grass.
Reed is just one of many NFL fans calling out the league and the turf at MetLife, which has claimed numerous victims over the years.
We need real grass for all of our stadiums @NFL.
— DJ Reed (@D7_Reed) September 12, 2023
Rodgers’ former teammate, Green Bay Packers offensive lineman David Bakhtiari, also chimed in.
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
The MetLife Stadium turf has been an issue for years and has claimed numerous players to injury.
While the New York Jets have yet to confirm the extent of Rodgers’ injury, many believe he has suffered a season-ending torn Achilles, which is a devastating setback for the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer, who not only played just four snaps but didn’t even complete a pass in green and white before going down.
The injury to Rodgers has put a massive dent in the Jets’ Super Bowl hopes, as their betting odds have dropped from 18-1 to 35-1. The organization is currently in the midst of the longest playoff drought in the National Football League, which is partially why they acquired Rodgers in the first place.
just going to leave this here
“The Injury Capital of the NFL” aka MetLife
they just installed a “new turf” that was supposedly safer, but… pic.twitter.com/VLioqQbXi1
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 12, 2023
MetLife Stadium used grass for this summer's Arsenal vs. Manchester United match.
8 stadiums must do the same for the 2026 World Cup.
Real Madrid just built an underground storage system that can replace the entire field.
There is no excuse for NFL stadiums to still have turf.
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) September 12, 2023
We asked a bunch of Jets/Bills players about the turf at MetLife since it has a history of issues. 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”— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) September 12, 2023
With Rodgers likely to miss the entire season (and potentially even consider retirement given the severity of an Achilles tear), the Jets will now turn to Zach Wilson as their starting quarterback, who is a player that the team drafted as the #2 overall pick in 2021.
Despite the draft capital invested in Wilson, the organization clearly has already given up on him as their decision to trade for the 39-year-old Rodgers spoke volumes about their belief in Wilson’s chances of becoming a franchise quarterback.
Countless amounts of current & former players have said that turf at MetLife is unsafe. When is enough, enough?
— Mal (@jamalagnew) September 12, 2023
MetLife turf claims another victim in one of the greatest QB’s of all time with the entire country watching on primetime.
Just unbelievable that they won’t invest in a grass field.
(And we have to play there twice this season. 🤦♂️)
— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) September 12, 2023
Looks pretty clear to me that Aaron Rodgers’ ankle got caught in the turf. MetLife claims another one pic.twitter.com/d4UZx8dD8D
— Andrew Harts (@AndrewHarts) September 12, 2023
The Jets’ waking nightmare of a 2023 season will continue next week when they head down to take on Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys in Texas.