Roger Goodell points to players as potential cause of injuries on turf in investigation into Aaron Rodgers’ injury
During Monday night's football game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills, Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending injury as he tore his Achilles.
Achilles injuries are more prone to players who play on turf field due to the field not having as much space on the ground for movement in the feet. Jets QB Rodgers suffered the injury on New York's turf field in his Jets debut.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell joined ESPN's First Take and spoke with Stephen A. Smith about the league investigating Rodgers' injuries and how much turf fields factor into injuries.
"Well, Steven, you know, that's one of the things that we really focus on player safety in general. But you know, turf is a big part of that. And so when you look at the turf, you also got to look at the cleats. And there are a lot of factors. It's a complex issue. And it's one of the things we negotiated with a collective bargaining agreement to address this in a in a way that is done scientifically."
"So we are getting the right people we're looking at we have engineers to look at that will look at the mechanism of injury on Aaron's injury and see what may have caused that. You also have other players who like playing on a turf field because it's faster. That's true. So you've got you've got a mixed opinions."
NFLPA requests natural grass field following Aaron Rodgers' achilles injury
Following Aaron Rodgers' season-ending injury, the NFLPA has requested natural grass fields to replace any turf fields that teams play on.
Lloyd Howell, the executive director for the NFLPA released the following statement about the NFLPA's request:
"Moving all stadium fields to high quality natural grass surfaces is the easiest decision the NFL can make. The players overwhelmingly prefer it and the data is clear that grass is simply safer than artificial turf. 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."
It will be interesting to see what happens with turf fields as a result of Rodgers' season-ending injury. Many players throughout the last few years have expressed their complaints about playing on turf fields and many players want to play on strictly grass fields.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Roger Goodell, ESPN, First Take, Lloyd Howell, NFLPA, and H/T Sportskeeda