After countless injuries — for the New York Giants, New York Jets and opposing teams — and a constant outcry, MetLife Stadium will get a new playing surface in 2023.
Giants safety Julian Love, the team’s NFLPA player rep, revealed the news to NJ Advance Media.
“The Giants and MetLife are in the process of getting things done for next year,” Love said. “That turf will be changed. The stats have shown that we are on one of the worst fields in the league.”
The stadium currently has a FieldTurf Classic HD system that was installed in 2020. According to reports, the new playing surface will not be natural grass.
“Part of the challenge is the two teams and all of the events that [happen] on that field, and so we would love grass, but if that’s not feasible, then the new state-of-the-art turf that is available will have to go down instead,” Love said. “The Giants are on the ball on that type of thing, and I think there is now a push to make everybody the same way.”
Love and other Giants, such as Landon Collins and Saquon Barkley, have been very vocal about their disdain for the MetLife Stadium turf. Former Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. also spoke out against it.
Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, recently denied that the FieldTurf Classic HD surface has contributed to a significant number of injuries, but the Giants and Jets clearly disagreed.
Both general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll had previously vowed to look into changing the MetLife Stadium turf but said that would be a discussion for the offseason.
“Obviously, there’s a standard in the league already, but we want that standard to be raised,” Love added. “Ideally, if everybody could be playing on grass, that would be the best-case scenario. It’s just easier on the players’ bodies, but if not, upgrade to the premium turf that is now being used at the newer stadiums.”
The Giants and Jets played on natural grass from 2000-2002 at the old Giants Stadium, but it could not hold up as the field for the two teams and a multitude of other events, not to mention the Northeast winters. In 2003, that surface was converted to FieldTurf, which remained until the stadium closed in 2010.
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