For as disastrous as the football season typically is for the New York Jets and Giants, the same can be said for each and every single one of their opponents. Ever since they first decided to roll out the artificial turf back in 1976, the fear of a star player tearing their ACL has lived in the back of everyone’s minds.
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In recent times, the injuries of Aaron Rodgers and Malik Nabers have revived the debate around the National Football League, calling for a change requiring teams to use actual grass fields. MetLife Stadium attempted to appease the masses by upgrading to what was labeled as FieldTurf Core, but that has seemingly resulted in even more mishaps.
Speaking from experience, the league’s former WR1, Odell Beckham Jr, is now advocating for a change himself.
Dear @NFL , I mean this with the upmost love and respect. We (The NFL) take all The precautions in the world with EVERYthing else when it comes to players “health” and “safety”. PLZ. PLZ. PLZ. GET RID OF THE 🤬 TURF. Thank You in advance. LUV
— Odell Beckham Jr (@obj) September 29, 2025
Unfortunately, Beckham isn’t alone in his experience. From 2021 to 2023, more than a dozen members of the Giants’ roster suffered some variation of an ACL tear, which begs the question: Is artificial turf really worth the investment?
Yes, teams are saving money by not having to maintain and care for real grass fields, but those savings are surely being offset by the amount of talent that is being lost. For example, at the time of his signing, the aforementioned Rodgers was a huge get for the Jets.
His Week 1 debut with the franchise helped to sell out the stadium in no time, but after the season was lost to yet another ACL injury just moments into the contest, so too were ticket prices, concession stand revenue, and several other business metrics.
Whatever the Jets had just saved in terms of maintenance costs, they’d lost out on in terms of true revenue. At some point in time, ownership will have to ask itself if those savings are worth the risk of continuing to field a hobbled product on an almost yearly basis.
After all, nobody wants to buy merchandise or go to a game when their team’s IR list is longer than their grocery list.
This very same field is the one that’s responsible for the implosion of the Daniel Jones era in New York. Considering his ongoing success with the Indianapolis Colts, it really makes you wonder what the Giants could have gotten out of him had they chosen not to pinch their pennies.
Nevertheless, offering up “what ifs?” will continue to be the primary pastime in New York right up until the moment that an actual change is made. Until then, fans will be crossing their fingers that both the Giants and the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, who roster some of the most valuable names in football today, are able to come away from this Thursday Night contest with nothing more than the records that they’ve earned.
Given the injury history of Saquon Barkley in particular, tomorrow night could be a very tough watch for everyone. Then again, a serious injury seems to be the only thing that could prevent him from running all over New York for a third consecutive game.
