Patriots' Artificial Turf Ruled 'Noncompliant' After Gillette Stadium Replaced Grass from World Cup

Ahead of the New England Patriots' preseason home game against the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday, new artificial turf is being installed at Gillette Stadium.

ESPN's Mike Reiss revealed that the timing of the installation stems from the artificial turf surface that replaced the natural grass field used for the World Cup being "deemed noncompliant by the NFL."

Reiss noted that the previous artificial turf surface "was vetted by the Patriots and the New England Revolution and passed all NFL and MLS field tests, per chief operating officer Jim Nolan." However, Nolan revealed that the noncompliance "was based on the NFL and NFL Players Association independent laboratory testing protocols."

While the new turf is expected to adhere to protocols, players surely would've preferred that the grass field from the World Cup be left in place. Players have been vocal about their desire to have grass fields installed at NFL stadiums, but the league has remained committed to utilizing artificial turf surfaces.

Nolan insisted that the latest surface being installed at Gillett Stadium will be sufficient for the players.

"The field we're installing is the latest version of the field we took out in January," Nolan said. "From a player perspective, it will be incredibly consistent with what they played on last year."

The Patriots are coming off a surprising run to the Super Bowl, so there's a chance that they would benefit from keeping the status quo as they begin another quest for a spot in the Big Game.