After signing for the New York Jets, superstar Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be the QB to rake in victories and make the Jets a Super Bowl contender. However, in the season opener against Buffalo Bills, A-Rod suffered a tear in his Achilles tendon when he was sacked early in the first quarter at MetLife Stadium. A career-threatening injury at the stadium, which uses synthetic turf, is not something new.

Many players find themselves feeling lucky, including his fellow quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Fortunately, he plays at the Kansas City Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium, which sports a natural grass pitch.

Patrick Mahomes reacts to Aaron Rodgers’ injury

Ever since the injury, reactions haven’t stopped pouring in from all sides, be it fans, fellow players, well-wishers and more. Recently during an interview, fellow QB Mahomes talked to the reports about how he’s hopeful of Rogers returning to the game in no time. He also commented on the ‘turf’ surface of the MetLife stadium and shared his feelings on his home stadium. Talking to KMBC News, Mahomes said,” Luckily for us arrowhead’s grass. So we play a lot of our games on grass.”

He further added, “You can only do so much. It’s a playing surface. So you prepare your body to be ready for any type of playing surface that you play on. But at the end of the day, you go out there and execute at the high level.” The MVP quarterback currently has his eyes set on the Jaguars clash this Sunday after starting off with a loss against the Lions.

Grass vs. Turf debate

The ongoing debate of Grass vs. Turf has gained momentum after the players showed concern. The NFL Players Association’s executive director, Lloyd Howell stated that switching all stadium fields to high-quality natural grass is the best decision for the NFL. He further added, “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.” 

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While half of the teams in the NFL use Natural grass in their stadium, the rest use synthetic turf. On Pat McAfee’s show, JJ watt also made a comment, “I mean, all things considered when everything is equal, I absolutely love grass every single player does. It feels better on your joints, it reduces the injury risk.”

The latter also added, “The only time I, as a player, ever preferred Turf is inclement weather if it was raining, if it was snowing.” The players are siding with the natural grass to play as the data shows it keeps them injury free. There is going to be an investment in making this change from artificial turf, but the cost is even higher if we lose the best players to unnecessary injuries. Should they make the change?

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