New York Jets player makes demand to NFL after Aaron Rodgers injury

12 September 2023 , 15:00

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Aaron Rodgers was carted off the field after sustaining an injury on his New York Jets debut (Image: Elsa/Getty Images)

New York Jets cornerback DJ Reed has sent a message to the NFL following the injury to Aaron Rodgers.

The criticism aimed at the NFL was over the use of artificial turf at MetLife Stadium, the home of the Jets and the New York Giants. The Jets claimed a 22-16 overtime win over their AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills, on Monday night to start the season 1-0.

But one of the main stories to emerge from the game was the injury to Rodgers. During what was only the veteran quarterback’s fourth play as the Jets’ starting QB, Rodgers went down with an injury and was carted to the locker room.

Rodgers is expected to go for an MRI scan on Tuesday to determine the full extent of the injury. Jets head coach Robert Saleh was not hopeful after the game when asked about the severity of the injury, fearing that Rodgers may have suffered an Achilles’ injury.

Zach Wilson stepped onto the field to replace Rodgers and the back-up quarterback threw one touchdown pass with one interception for 140 passing yards.

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In the aftermath of Rodgers’ injury, there have been criticisms aimed at the NFL for the use of artificial turf, even though it’s unclear what role, if any, the use of artificial turf had on Rodgers’ injury. One Jets player has called on the NFL to make a change across the league.

Reed, who is in his second season with the Jets, posted a message on Twitter/X aimed at the NFL and calling for change. Reed wrote: “We need real grass for all of our stadiums @NFL.”

The Jets cornerback is not the only NFL player to issue a demand to the league. Rodgers’ former Green Bay Packers teammate David Bakhtiari was another to call on the NFL to remove artificial turf from stadiums.

“Congrats @nfl,” Bakhtiari wrote in one of his tweets on Monday night. “How many players have to get hurt on ARTIFICIAL TURF??! You care more about soccer players than us.

“You plan to remove all artificial turf for the World Cup coming up. So clearly it’s feasible. I’m sick of this. Do better!”

Bakhtiari’s comments were in relation to multiple NFL teams making the decision to remove artificial turf from their stadiums ahead of the United States hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026. However, the MetLife Stadium is one of several to still include artificial turf which has led to criticism from across the world of football.

Mark Wakefield