Aaron Rodgers’ gruesome injury in Jets’ season opener broke the hearts of innumerable NY fans. He reportedly picked up a potential season-ending Achilles injury in his third snap. However, Aaron’s Packer friend David Bakhtiari and other fans are blaming the NFL for what they believe is the reason behind the veteran QB’s injury.
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Soon after Rodgers was seen carted off to the x-ray room, Bakhtiari and other fans blamed the MetLife turf for having claimed another big victim at the start of the season. Needless to say, an injury of this sort can really derail the New York Jets’ Super Bowl project that was evidently built around Aaron Rodgers.
David Bakhtiari Slams Metlife Stadium’s Artificial Turf for Aaron Rodgers’ Injury
David Bakhtiari uttered some strong words after the injury of Aaron Rodgers. His Tweet has yet again ignited a conversation about player safety in the NFL. Bakhtiyari took a stance against MetLife Stadium and didn’t hold back in calling out the league’s stance on artificial turf. He pointed out that while the NFL plans to remove all artificial turf for the upcoming World Cup, they seem to prioritize soccer players’ safety over the NFL.
Innumerable fans also joined Bakhtiari in calling out the artificial turf as the reason for Rodgers’ injury. Let’s look at some of those X reactions by the fans:
Aaron Rodgers had a grand welcome at the Big Apple. The off-season vibes were good. Chemistry with the teammates was building up and the honeymoon period with the Jets was in full swing for Rodgers. To see him go down in the very first game is a setback for the NFL community that was just waiting to see him play for a different team after spending nearly two decades with the Green Bay Packers.
NFL Players Association Advocates for Turf Safety
Rodgers’ injury in his Jets debut has drawn widespread attention and concerns about the turf at MetLife Stadium. The synthetic turf has been heavily criticized by players for its safety. A number of serious injuries have reportedly taken place due to it including ACL tears, which are mostly season-ending injuries.
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) has been vocal about the issue for quite some time now. They have raised their voice multiple times about the need for change to ensure player safety. ESPN reported NFLPA’s stance on the same issue last November, where the association said,
“The change will not come soon enough, though, for players who will be at greater risk the rest of the season. We expect that whatever surface gets installed next year will meet the highest safety and performance standards possible.”
Several past incidents, such as Sterling Shepard’s ACL injury and the losses of Nick Bosa and Solomon Thomas in 2020 to torn ACLs during a 49ers game are just some recent examples. Now, Aaron Rodgers has been added to the list of injured players because of allegedly unsafe playing conditions. The New York Jets would surely be fuming right now.
