Grass Vs. Turf: Are The Dallas Cowboys Making the Big Switch?
Back during Week 1 of the NFL season, Aaron Rodgers went down with left Achilles tear on just the fourth play as a member of the New York Jets. This rekindled the debate of whether artificial turf is injuring players and should the NFL swap out for grass across the board?
The news regarding Rodgers' injury was confirmed by the team the next morning, he had torn "his left Achilles' tendon and will miss the season." Although there has been some speculation since that he could be back this season, it's still got folks wondering if player should ever play on turf.
If it were up to the NFLPA there would be a switch.
The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is the labor union representing National Football League players. Their official position is to switch all fields to grass. NFLPA Executive Director, Lloyd Howell, already made that perfectly clear.
[players] overwhelmingly prefer it and the data is clear that grass is simply safer than artificial turf.” Howell said the issue “has been near the top of the players’ list during my team visits and one I have raised with the NFL.
NFL Fields are currently split in half, grass or turf, with 15 NFL stadiums playing on real grass. And the other 17 teams play on artificial turf across 15 stadiums -- the Giants and Jets share MetLife Stadium (turf), and the Rams and Chargers share SoFi Stadium (turf).
According to nbcfw.com below are the teams on artificial turf:
- Dallas Cowboys: AT&T Stadium, Hellas Matrix Turf
- Atlanta Falcons: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, FieldTurf CORE
- Buffalo Bills: Highmark Stadium, A-Turf Titan 50
- Carolina Panthers: Bank of America Stadium, FieldTurf
- Cincinnati Bengals: Paycor Stadium, UBU Speed Series S5-M Synthetic Turf
- Dallas Cowboys: AT&T Stadium, Hellas Matrix Turf
- Detroit Lions: Ford Field, FieldTurf CORE
- Houston Texans: NRG Stadium, Hellas Matrix Turf
- Indianapolis Colts: Lucas Oil Stadium, Shaw Sports Momentum Pro
- Los Angeles Chargers: SoFi Stadium, Hellas Matrix Turf
- Los Angeles Rams: SoFi Stadium, Hellas Matrix Turf
- Minnesota Vikings: U.S. Bank Stadium, Act Global Americas synthetic turf
- New England Patriots: Gillette Stadium, FieldTurf CORE
- New Orleans Saints: Caesars Superdome, Turf Nation S5
- New York Giants: MetLife Stadium, FieldTurf CORE
- New York Jets: MetLife Stadium, FieldTurf CORE
- Seattle Seahawks: Lumen Field, FieldTurf Revolution 360
- Tennessee Titans: Nissan Stadium, Matrix Helix Turf
While we don't know when or if The Dallas Cowboys will be making the switch, with so many players, former players and the NFLPA calling for it, you've got to think it's just a matter of time before all stadiums make the switch.