Patriots captain sends warning to teammates ahead of Jets matchup on TNF

Over the last few years in the NFL, injuries have been piling up more than ever, and unfortunately, this has also been the case through the first two games this year. Many players who have suffered season-ending ailments sustained those injuries through non-contact situations, attributing the field conditions as the primary cause.

It has become a topic of conversation in recent years, and the debate about turf vs. natural grass continues this season despite every team in the league practicing on real grass. Most stadiums play on turf, which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Players have voiced their desire for the NFL to do away with artificial turf, as it is the main culprit for most non-contact injuries. But no plans appear to be in place to do that any time soon.

It's an issue that former New York Giant Jabrill Peppers knows all too well and is thinking about more than ever as the Patriots are set to return to MetLife Stadium for their Thursday Night matchup against the Jets.

It was at that stadium that he suffered an ACL tear in 2021, making him weary about playing on that field again. With that in mind, the safety spoke about his concerns to MassLive, essentially sending a warning about the field conditions to his teammates at the same time.

Jabrill Peppers is not thrilled about playing at MetLife Stadium and on the artificial turf

Although Peppers' injury wasn't non-contact, he is still concerned about returning to the field where he suffered the worst setback of his NFL career. It also happens to be where Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in the first game of the 2023 season, which could also be attributed to the field.

When asked about the Patriots' playing there in Week 3, Peppers simply replied that he doesn't like the field and the turf. While his injury came after a tackle during a punt return, it's still a factor that will be on his mind throughout the game.

As one of the players who would like to see real grass return to the league, Peppers brought up the 2026 World Cup since eight games will be played at the Giants/Jets stadium.

To accommodate the soccer players, real grass will replace the turf for those games, which Peppers understands but still takes issue with.

“Soccer players are much smaller than us and the World Cup is going to be there. They’re digging the turf up. So that should tell you all you need to know. They are much lighter than us. They are not generating as much force in the ground. And they’re still not going to do it. So that should tell you everything you need to know. I don’t understand — well I understand. I know why. Owners want to have concerts and other things at their facility. I’m not mad at them, but you know.”

Considering the sheer amount of injuries that could have possibly been avoided had NFL stadiums had natural grass instead of artificial turf, you'd think the league would seriously consider replacing it sooner rather than later.

As a billion-dollar company, losing star players left and right is not good for business, and there's an easy way to prevent that as much as possible: bringing back natural grass.

For a league that considers itself to care the most about player safety, this issue seems to disprove that and will continue to plague the league until it is changed. Hopefully, the Patriots will avoid any unfortunate circumstances on Thursday night, and they won't have to worry about field conditions as much as the season progresses.

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