MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey has long been considered to have one of the poorest playing surfaces in the NFL. It is one of the remaining stadiums that uses some version of an artificial turf, which both the teams and leagues has said is far cheaper to maintain than a natural playing surface. But given the growing list of lower-body injuries that have happened on the MetLife field, there may be some major calls for the Jets and Giants to replace the turf with grass.
List Of NFL Players Injured At MetLife Continues To Grow
Notable injuries on MetLife stadium since 2020:#49ers DE Nick Bosa#Jets QB Aaron Rodgers#Giants WR Sterling Shepard#Bears CB Kyle Fuller #49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo#Dolphins RB Raheem Mostert#Giants WR Wan’Dale Robinson#Jets DL Solomon Thomas#Patriots Safety Jabrill… https://t.co/psL79PZt8n pic.twitter.com/o6srVvaZry
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 25, 2023
The most recent incident came this past Friday. In the 4th quarter of his team’s win over the Jets, Miami Dolphins pass rusher Jaelan Phillips crumbled to the ground with an apparent non-contact injury. Replays showed Phillips bursting off of the line at the snap of the ball, a movement that caused the back of his leg to buckle in a way that football fans have become all too familiar with this season.
The list is long. Over only the last four seasons, NFL players like Aaron Rodgers and Sterling Shepard have torn their Achilles, and Solomon Thomas, Kyle Fuller, and Jabril Peppers all tore their ACLs on the MetLife turf. During a single game in 2020, 5 different 49ers players went down with lower body injuries, including a season-ending ACL tear for Nick Bosa.
Dolphins Players Unhappy After Friday’s Game
#Dolphins safety Jevon Holland calls out MetLife Stadium’s turf after the game…
“That field is trash”
Jaelan Phillips suffered a likely season ending achilles injury today, and Holland himself suffered a knee injury. pic.twitter.com/N6xXnPe0JQ
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) November 25, 2023
After the game between the Dolphins and Jets, players from Miami’s roster were given a chance to share their thoughts about the field condition. “Since being in the league, I’ve heard that field is trash,” said safety Jevon Holland. Raheem Mostert, who suffered a high-ankle sprain at MetLife back in 2020 in that infamous game for the 49ers, had the following to say:
We’ve got to do something about this turf. Something has to change.
Of course, with two teams playing their home games in the same stadium, there is a higher likelihood that MetLife has a higher percentage of injuries. But there is no denying the impact that it has had on the immediate and long-term futures of many players around the NFL, and there is no one who knows the impact that a field has on their body better than the athletes themselves.
There has been no immediate action taken by either franchise or by the league, and there likely won’t be any for some time. But if the list of ailments occurring on the field continues to grow, then there may be no other choice. Just last week, a poll of anonymous NFL players resulted in MetLife being called the worst stadium to play a game in.
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