MetLife Stadium, the NFL’s Graveyard: Why the Turf Needs to Go
By Jack Zinke | 21 October, 2025
MetLife Stadium is where the New York Giants and New York Jets have resided since 2010. A place that has served as the home of multiple Lombardi-hoisting squads, has seen one of history’s most memorable catches, and has even hosted its own frigid Super Bowl has fallen victim to intense scrutiny over the past few seasons due to the effects of its playing surface. Time and time again, critics have called for the removal of the infamous MetLife turf, which still remains as of the 2025 NFL season. The turf has been effectively deemed one of the most, if not the most dangerous field in professional sports. Numerous NFL stars have suffered career-altering injuries at MetLife, many of which can be solely attributed to the nature of the turf. Yet, the turf is still there and is still haunting the Jets, Giants, and any visiting opponent that takes the field. In fact, one of the league’s best young receivers, Malik Nabers just recently suffered a season-ending ACL injury on the MetLife turf on Sunday, September 28. This injury has resparked conversations regarding the safety of players and has led many to criticize the leaders at MetLife Stadium for their constant refusal to make a change. Critics have reached the conclusion that enough is enough. Action needs to be taken and the turf needs to go.
MetLife Stadium has always had turf since the venue first opened on April 10, 2010. The reasoning for the team opting for turf in the first place has to do with how it performs in extreme weather conditions in addition to long-term cost. In snow and rain, the playing surface stays more consistent and requires less field maintenance. Whereas, real grass must be replaced more often and can be easily damaged. Cost-wise, artificial turf is more expensive to install than grass, but the overall maintenance cost over time puts real grass over the edge.
In April 2023, the NFL Players Association union president J.C. Tretter posted an essay titled, “Why the NFL’s Approach to Field Surfaces is Uneven,” where he discussed the safety of playing on natural grass versus synthetic surfaces. Tretter wrote that, “For more than a decade, players have been speaking out about their strong preference to work on natural grass over synthetic playing surfaces. Players have shared stories about how their bodies feel after playing on turf compared to grass, and the injury data for nearly a decade supports those anecdotes.” In the slide below, data over a six-year period shows that injuries on artificial turf occurred at a much higher rate than on natural grass.
A Slide from an NFLPA essay displaying “Adjusted injury rates by year on synthetic vs. natural surfaces – Regular season games; 2015-2020.” (NFLPA)
The essay goes on to call out the NFL’s inaction regarding player safety on artificial turf: “The NFL and team owners have the resources to fix these safety issues with fields, and it is inexplicable why there is such a failure to protect players on an issue that EVERYONE knows is a problem.” This was a direct call out from the players association to the league. Players wanted change to the surface, and the New York Giants’ and Jets’ venue, MetLife Stadium, delivered… well, somewhat delivered.
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, MetLife Stadium switched its previous playing surface from FieldTurf to an updated version called FieldTurf Core. Essentially, the original FieldTurf was a single-layer polyethylene fiber system, while the upgraded FieldTurf Core is a multi-layer dual polymer monofilament fiber system. The new turf is more realistic and offers more resemblance to real grass than the previous turf. Additionally, it is built to allow for ‘higher performance’ and prevent serious injuries. The Sporting News’ David Suggs writes that FieldTurf Core’s “heavyweight infill design is believed to make injuries less common than with other infill weights.” Turf is simply a harder playing surface than real grass. There is less give on artificial turf, and hence, players are more prone to injury when on it. For example, grass often leaves divots as the surface gives way before a player’s leg produces enough force to cause an injury. The divots that real grass creates truly help prevent injuries. Turf simply does not create divots. It is absolutely not a forgiving surface.
The amount of leg, knee, and ankle injuries that have occurred on MetLife Stadium’s turf is astounding. Just in recent years, we have seen NFL stars’ seasons ended prematurely on MetLife turf. In 2020, the visiting San Francisco 49ers suffered four significant injuries in the same game against the New York Jets. Then-NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year Nick Bosa tore his ACL. Starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a significant high ankle sprain that kept him out for most of the 2020-21 season. 2020 NFC Championship standout Raheem Mostert tore his MCL and the former first-round defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, just like Bosa, tore his ACL. All of these injuries happened in the same game on the same artificial FieldTurf.
It isn’t just the 49ers, who have been defined by an alarming injury rate throughout the past decade, that have suffered catastrophic losses as a result of the feared MetLife turf. Sterling Shepard of the New York Giants has suffered two season-ending non-contact injuries in back-to-back years. In 2021, he tore his achilles and in 2022, he tore his ACL on the same left leg. Both injuries were not due to contact. The only possible explanation as to the cause of the injuries is the nature of the turf. Shepard has been on the record saying that he does not blame MetLife turf for either incident, but has also been quoted saying that he “personally prefer[s] grass.” Shepard, who was likely being bipartisan in his comments, must attribute his injury, at least slightly, to the playing surface that it occurred on. It’d be ridiculous not even to consider that. Fellow Giants receiver Wan’Dale Robinson also tore his ACL at MetLife in 2022. Non-contact injuries to skill players have continued to decimate the Giants’ roster since the stadium’s opening. Injuries to Blake Martinez, Shane Lemieux, Andrew Thomas, and most recently, Malik Nabers are just a few of many that have begun to pile up.
In 2021, Jabrill Peppers suffered both an ACL tear and a high ankle sprain while fielding a punt against the New York Giants. His foot became trapped during the play by the sticky nature of the artificial turf and was twisted by the tackler, ultimately causing the devastating injuries. Peppers, a consistent contributor at the NFL level, saw his career derailed by these preventable injuries. He was never able to replicate the numbers that he recorded earlier in his career and now is a shell of his past self as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2024, Peppers professed his disdain for artificial turf fields to MassLive: “I’m actually mad I practiced on so much turf in high school and college. I think, what if I was on grass? How would my joints, knees (feel?) How much extra life would I have? How many more years would that put on me?” Peppers was virtually blaming artificial surfaces for his continued leg injury history, wondering to himself, “What if?” Peppers also put the blame on owners, accusing them of opting for turf in the interest of increased profits from non-football events: “I don’t understand — well I understand. I know why. Owners want to have concerts and other things at their facility. I’m not mad at them, but you know.” Turf is much easier to remove and replace than real grass is at a multi-use facility like MetLife Stadium and many other NFL venues. For this reason, Peppers believes that owners refuse to replace the artificial turf due to the fact that it is expensive to maintain real grass at a place that it needs to be removed and replaced frequently. His explanation is really that this is all about money. That is why a change has not been made.
Jabrill Peppers holds his knee in excruciating pain as he suffers a season-ending ACL injury. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Possibly the most famous injury to recently occur on MetLife’s FieldTurf Core is Aaron Rodgers’ New York Jets debut. Trotting out on the field on September 11, 2023, Rodgers held the American flag in solidarity with the 2001 terrorist attack victims. The future Hall of Fame quarterback represented hope for a franchise defined by disappointment throughout nearly their entire history. A team with a promising, young defensive core and talented offensive weapons seemed to be just a signal caller away from legitimate postseason contention. Rodgers seemed like the answer, and yet, just four plays into his Jets career, it was all over. His achilles tendon was torn at the hands of MetLife Stadium’s artificial turf. Ironically, before the famed injury, Rodgers had this to say regarding the then-newly placed FieldTurf Core: “There’s obviously been a lot of conversation around grass field compared to turf field, but I feel like the other night, it’s been one of the best surfaces I’ve seen that’s artificial." The perceived answer in New York was praising the surface that likely contributed to his demise. This was just one of many recent examples of game-changing injuries that have taken place at MetLife Stadium.
According to surveys conducted by the NFLPA, 90% of players prefer playing on real grass as opposed to artificial turf. The numbers are logical, so just follow the numbers. If a large majority prefers a certain playing surface, it seems understandable to acknowledge those opinions, and possibly implement changes as a result.
To make matters worse, it is now becoming apparent to NFL players across the league that their safety when it comes to playing surfaces isn’t even a priority of the league. As the World Cup is coming to MetLife stadium in 2026, so is real grass. Blair Christensen, the pitch manager for the World Cup at MetLife Stadium told The Athletic that, “This is their careers. They train for decades, some of them, and for them to be able to showcase the skills they’ve developed in that time, the surface plays an integral role in that. With a higher-quality surface, you’re likely to see some high-quality football as well.” Christensen certainly gets it. The athletes need to be able to play on the best surface possible for them to perform to the best of their abilities. It is also crucial for their safety, so that they can be confident in the ground beneath them.
The catch is that this is only temporary. That’s right. Once the World Cup is over, MetLife Stadium will bring back the artificial turf. Even with all of the evidence that it is more beneficial and safe for athletes to play on real grass, the world-class real grass is being passed on.
The stadium’s own home teams are being put on the back burner as the visiting European soccer players will enjoy the best surfaces available in the world. It really doesn’t make for a great argument. In J.C. Tretter’s NFLPA essay, he had a few words regarding the soccer players receiving better treatment than NFL players: “It makes absolutely no sense for European soccer clubs to visit the U.S. every year – including this upcoming summer – and play exhibition games at NFL stadiums on high-quality natural grass while NFL players are subjected to greater risk on artificial surfaces. And it is absolutely appalling that owners are more willing to provide safe fields for soccer players than for the football players who are the primary workers on those fields – and who, in many cases, helped pay for the stadiums where those fields lay.” Tretter certainly did not take it easy on the NFL, owners, and team executives who consistently choose to keep artificial turf as the playing surface of their home stadiums.
MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, as well as the host of the final match of the 2026 World Cup. (Matthew Ashton/Getty Images)
It is exceedingly clear that artificial turf is a suboptimal playing surface for football players. As the world’s premier football organization, players deserve to play on world-class surfaces. The health and safety of players needs to be a priority for the league, and the place where players’ seasons go to die, MetLife Stadium, needs to make a change. Time and time again, we have seen stars of the league suffer career-altering injuries. The evidence is enough. Enough is enough. Make the change. Players, fans, and anyone with common sense will thank you. The ball is in your court, MetLife. Do what you will, but know that people are watching.
