Out With The New, In With The Old: Colts of Past and Present Demand Grass Field

Nearly half of the league (fifteen teams) uses artificial turf for its home game field during the regular season, and the Indianapolis Colts are one of those teams.

Players have become more outspoken in recent memory about reverting back to grass fields in attempt to preserve their bodies, as studies have proven that turf brings a higher injury rate into the equation.

Not only are players getting more injured, they've seen a drastic uptick in non-contact injuries. Because of the turf's unforgiving nature, players are seeing more torn ACLs and sprained ankles than ever before; not to mention the often career-defining torn Achilles injuries.

The FIFA World Cup Final kicks off today at MetLife Stadium -- aka the NFL field that's garnered a notorious reputation at the ultimate lower-body injury machine -- and we're seeing irony played out on the biggest stage.

Throughout the tournament's 78 games, multiple venues have switched out their artificial turf fields for grass, which alone shows how hypocritical some NFL teams are with their recent practices.

Seven of the eleven hosting venues switched to grass from their typical sythetic turf at FIFA's request, proving that the NFL does not hold as high of a standard when to comes to player safety as other leagues do.

"The temporary installation of natural grass fields for the World Cup is a choice by certain NFL team owners to do for soccer players what they refuse to do for NFL players," the NFLPA said in a statement posted to social media five weeks ago, via ESPN.

"It's no longer a question of capability; the technology exists, the expertise exists and the resources exist to install the high-level grass fields that our players overwhelmingly prefer.

Overall, the NFLPA claimed that a whopping 92% of NFL players want to make grass fields mandatory, so why aren't teams rushing to make right by their players?

Teams Aren't Listening, Because They Don't Have To

Roger Goodell NF — Apr 23, 2026; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The fourteen aforementioned clubs who continue to roll out artificial turf fields aren't in a rush to revert back to grass, because it saves them money, but also because they don't have to.

As mentioned, FIFA is who requested that the World Cup hosts abide by their rules. The NFL on the other hand, is who is allowing this trend of turf field to continue.

It's important to have a choice, and surely science will net a truly grass-like turf in the future, but as of now, this cheap option is hurting the brand more than it's helping it.

Anytime these teams have been met with scrutiny for not returning to grass fields after data proves that it's worse off for their players, or in their eyes, their investments, they've claimed it's too much of a hassle.

Translation says that this means it's too expensive. Not only is turf cheaper in general, but the upkeep it takes to maintain a viable grass field is ultimately what has kept them from going back on their investment.

Players across the league have taken the opportunity to revisit the issue at hand, and reignite the ongoing movement that calls for the abolishment of turf fields, and the return of grass.

As alluded to, the Indianapolis Colts are one of those teams with an artificial turf field, and two of their biggest voices from recent memory have joined the '#WorthTheCost' cause in an attempt to sway those decision-makers in charge.

What The Colts Are Saying

Indianapolis Colts' star running back Jonathan Taylor took to social media to join the movement in question, following the likes of Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, Washington Commanders tackle tackle Laremy Tunsil, amongst others.

"Natural grass isn't out of reach. Prioritizing players shouldn't be either!" Taylor said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "We're #WorthTheCost."

Former Colts and current Green Bay Packers' starting linebacker Zaire Franklin also chimed in amidst the recent surge.

"The cost of doing nothing is paid for by players' bodies," Franklin wrote in his own post. "Make grass mandatory. We're #WorthTheCost."

But this isn't the first time the Colts have shared their opinion on the horrors of an artificial turf home field.

The NFLPA has been releasing report cards from the past season, and although this was recently deemed to no longer released to the public like it had been, it naturally was leaked.

Of course NFL owners don't want their teams' complaints to reach fans leaguewide, but journalism prevails.

When it comes to the Indianapolis Colts, their grades for the first-year ownership trio of Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Kalen Jackson, and Casey Foyt were very impressive from top to bottom, with one outlier: their home field grade.

2026 Indianapolis #Colts Report Card

The new ownership trio of Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Kalen Jackson, and Casey Foyt and GM Chris Ballard both receive an ‘A.’

Lucas Oil Stadium’s field gets the lowest grade with a ‘D.’ https://t.co/EPFxZqIHAY pic.twitter.com/PXRbuEUC6I
— Noah Compton (@nerlens_) February 26, 2026

Outside of locker room (C+) and team travel (B-), every category received a B or higher. But Lucas Oil Stadium's home field received an overall D grade, which is by far the lowest rating.

The Colts did implement a new, first-of-its-kind artificial turf ahead of the 2024-25 season called Matrix Helix.

It's supposedly a design closest to that of grass, and is meant to be more forgiving on a body's joints and ligaments, though the aforementioned push for natural grass and recent grades have said otherwise.

Lucas Oil Stadium has a retractable roof and is essentially a stadium hybrid, and as a result, there is no drainage system in place for such a change. This means that it was never built to accommodate a grass field, but of course, with enough money invested, things could go back to the way they were.

The Irsay girls have merely gotten their feet wet when it comes to owning an NFL team, so a big change like switching from artificial turf to grass might take longer than the players are striving for, but perhaps they're open to such a change.

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