Giants, Jets Reportedly 'Have No Plans' to Replace MetLife Stadium Turf with Grass

The New York Giants and New York Jets currently "have no plans" to replace the turf field at MetLife Stadium with grass, The Athletic's Dianna Russini reported.

Decisions regarding the future of the field depends on the Giants and Jets owners as well as the New Meadowlands Stadium Company, which operates the stadium, according to Russini.

"And for now, their stance is clear: The turf stays," Russini wrote.

MetLife Stadium installed an updated turf ahead of the 2023 NFL season that was meant to decrease injuries on the field. The surface has come under scrutiny again after Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers suffered a season-ending ACL injury at MetLife last Sunday.

One NFL executive from an opposing team recently told ESPN's Adam Schefter that his players are "petrified" of playing at MetLife because of the FieldTurf playing surface.

The exec added that if a player is rehabbing from an injury, "he might be less apt to play through it for a game at MetLife."

Former NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell said last February that 92 percent of the players' union would prefer grass to turf.

CBS Sports' Jonathan Jones said Sunday that "it is well known around the league that the stadium turf where the Jets and Giants play is among the worst in the NFL" and that "players absolutely hate it at MetLife."

Former Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. meanwhile ripped the turf in a social media post after Nabers' non-contact injury:

MetLife introduced a type of turf called the FieldTurf Core system in 2023, Jordan Rutherford previously reported for ESPN.

The turf was installed after multiple players suffered season-ending knee injuries at the stadium in years prior. It featured a "heavyweight infill design" which claimed "to deliver a lower incidence of total injuries compared to various infill weights," Rutherford wrote.

This new field got off to an inauspicious start when Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during his first game at the stadium in 2023.

MetLife installed grass fields ahead of World Cup group stage games this summer, which earned the stadium another prod from the players' union:

Giants co-owner John Mara said last year said the fields used for soccer were temporary and could not hold up to the rigor of a full NFL season, especially when the Jets and Giants are scheduled to play on consecutive days.

"I want to get to the point where the experts can tell us that late in the season we can have a safe, playable grass field, and when we get to that point, then maybe we'll make the switch. We're not there yet," Mara said in March 2024, per NorthJersey.com's Art Stapleton.

The only other NFL stadium that hosts two home teams, SoFi Stadium, also uses turf as the playing surface for the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.

Out of the 32 teams in the NFL, 17 currently play on turf, although that number will drop to 16 when the Buffalo Bills move into a new grass-field stadium ahead of the 2026 NFL season.