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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Brandon Carwile

Packers players have suffered sixth-most ACL tears since 2013

If you’re one of those people who feel like the Packers suffer more torn ACLs than other NFL teams, it turns out you’re right. Well, sort of.

According to a tweet from ACL Recovery Club, Green Bay has had the sixth most ACL tears since 2013, a 10-year stretch:

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Interestingly enough, all six teams ahead of the Packers play on grass fields. This may come as a surprise to players who have pushed for the league to require grass in all NFL stadiums.

When Green Bay’s top edge rusher Rashan Gary tore his ACL last season, it occurred on the slit turf at Ford Field. Gary’s injury provoked a strong reaction from David Bakhtiari, who also exited the same game because the field conditions aggravated his surgically repaired knee.

A week after the game, Bakhtiari posted a series of tweets voicing his frustration with the NFL for allowing teams to continue to have slit turf.

Aaron Rodgers also agreed that he would like to see all teams make the switch to grass but stated that he had no faith in NFL owners coming to an agreement because the decision would ultimately come down to money.

“I don’t have a lot of confidence when it comes to the league making that decision without some sort of big vote and gripes from certain owners who don’t want to spend the money,” he said.

Halfway through the 2022 season, NFLPA president JC Tretter wrote a column stating that slit turf surfaces have statistically higher in-game injury rates compared to all other surfaces, including injuries to lower extremities and non-contact injuries.

However, NFL executive V.P. of communications, public affairs, and safety, Jeff Miller, pushed back on Trettor’s claims citing that slit turfs fields produce “2-3 more injuries per year, most of them are ankle sprains — a low-burden injury — whereas slit film also sees a lower rate of fewer high-burden ACL injuries compared to other synthetic fields.”

Judging by the data from ACL Recovery Club, it sounds like Miller might be right. The Giants are the only team in the top 10 that uses slit turf. Meanwhile, the team with the lowest number of ACL tears, the Atlanta Falcons, play on a synthetic field.

Unfortunately, ACL injuries can’t be avoided. The Packers just happen to have had pretty bad luck when it comes to ACL tears in recent years.

Hopefully, that luck will change, and they avoid such injuries in the future.

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