Julian Edelman highlights importance of natural grass for NFL games

Julian Edelman – refer to caption – CC BY-SA

Former Patriots player Julian Edelman pushes the NFL to require every stadium in the league to have a natural grass surface.

Edelman made the statement in an interview on Fubo Sports’ “No Chill with Gilbert Arenas.” Edelman said he wasn’t sure if the league would pull through with the request, as he believes the league favors profits over player safety.

“You put a turf field in, that’s [$1.5 million] for the year. If you have grass, you got to water it, upkeep it, redo it, there’s a lot of maintenance, you have to have a field crew that’s always on it,” said Edelman.

The former Pats No. 11 also pointed out that when a player gets older, around 27 or 28, practicing on turf fields can cause discomfort and lead to potential injuries. The lack of cushioning and grip on turf can also lead to back pain, knee issues and ankle soreness.

Edelman spoke from his own experience. Before retiring after the 2020 season, the Super Bowl LIII MVP suffered multiple major injuries — two of which came from playing on turf. He tore his ACL during the 2017 preseason in Detroit, then broke his foot in New York.

Edelman said that with turf, there was nowhere for the energy to disperse. As a result, everything will go straight into the knee and ankle when making cuts.

NFLPA brings up similar issues before

The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) released a similar statement to Edelman in April. The association declared its preference for grass playing surfaces, citing injury rates from 2012 through 2022. They believe the league relies on outdated 2021 data that downplays the risks.

According to Jeff Miller, the primary league-office executive for both health and safety and PR, the NFL is aware of this issue. He said the problem was “too complicated to easily solve” and “simply playing on natural grass” would not solve it.

“Some artificial turf surfaces have a lower injury rate than some grass fields — and some grass fields have a lower injury rate than some artificial surfaces,” Miller said.