Over the last several weeks, the NFL has seen a few notable players voice a strong desire to switch all fields from turf to grass.
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Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the latest to air that stance while stating he believes the financial cost will prevent some team owners from going that route.
“No, honestly, I don’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to the league making that decision without some sort of big vote and gripes from certain owners who don’t want to spend the money,” Rodgers said Tuesday via ESPN.
The NFLPA has also called for the change citing that the slit film turf has led to a higher rate of injuries on that type of playing surface. That playing field is currently used by the New York Giants, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts, and Cincinnati Bengals.
“As the NFLPA knows from the meeting of our Joint Field Safety & Performance Committee earlier this month, there was no difference between the number of injuries on synthetic surfaces versus grass,” said NFL Executive Vice President of Communications, Public Affairs and Safety, Jeff Miller in a statement to ESPN. “While slit film surfaces, one type of synthetic material, have 2-3 more injuries per year, most of them are ankle sprains – a low-burden injury – whereas slit film also sees a lower rate of fewer high-burden ACL injuries compared to other synthetic fields.
“As a result, the league and NFLPA’s joint experts did not recommend any changes to surfaces at the meeting but agreed more study is needed.”
The NFL is in a position where player safety is coming into question, and that alone could see a significant surge toward making the change. It may, unfortunately, reach the point of a big-name talent suffering a major injury before the league finally moves in that direction.