Roger Goodell: Players Have 'Mixed Opinions' on Grass vs. Turf Fields amid Injuries

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made a bold statement in response to player complaints about turf fields following Aaron Rodgers' season-ending Achilles injury.

"You have other players who like playing on the turf field, because it's faster. So you've got mixed opinions," Goodell said Wednesday on ESPN's First Take (h/t Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer). "What we want to go on is science, we want to go on what's the best from an injury standpoint."

Rodgers ruptured his Achilles on the New York Jets' first drive of a 22-16 win over the Buffalo Bills on Monday night at MetLife Stadium, which has long received complaints about its turf field.

The four-time MVP quarterback hadn't even completed a pass yet before being ruled out in his Gang Green debut. He played a total of four snaps and was on the field for 75 seconds.

NFL players were quick to react to Rodgers' injury with social media posts on X, formerly known as Twitter. Green Bay Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari, Rodgers' former teammate, was among them:

NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell also released a statement on Wednesday calling for all teams in the league to utilize natural grass instead of turf, writing that the "players overwhelming prefer it and the data is clear that grass is simply safer than artificial turf."

Players have long spoken about their preference for natural grass, including when NFLPA president JC Tretter wrote a letter to the league in April stating that data showed players suffered more non-contact injuries to their legs on turf than grass.

According to Reem Abdalazem and Calum Roche of AS.com, 14 of the NFL's 32 teams do not use real grass fields and two teams, the Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, use a combination of turf and real grass.

The 14 teams to use artificial turf are:

• Seattle Seahawks, Lumen Field
• Atlanta Falcons, Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Buffalo Bills, Highmark Stadium
• Carolina Panthers, Bank of America Stadium
• Cincinnati Bengals, Paul Brown Stadium
• Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium
• Detroit Lions, Ford Field
• Houston Texans, NRG Stadium
• Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium
• Los Angeles Rams, SoFi Stadium
• Los Angeles Chargers, SoFi Stadium
• New Orleans Saints, Caesars Superdome
• New York Jets, MetLife Stadium
• New York Giants, MetLife Stadium

Rodgers' injury will likely be in the back of the minds of most players when they suit up at MetLife Stadium this season. If more players suffer injuries to their lower extremities while playing in the Meadowlands, the calls for natural grass will only grow larger.

Given Goodell's comments, though, it's hard to imagine the NFL will force teams to install natural grass fields any time soon. However, maybe the league will do some more research on the matter this year.