Turf Monster: Jets’ Michael Carter II Rips MetLife Stadium
New York Jets secondary defender Michael Carter II isn't taking kindly to a grass-kicking joint study from the NFL and NFL Players Association.
Results of the study, obtained by NBC Sports and ESPN, seemed to dispel the theory that artificial playing surfaces like the one used at MetLife Stadium are more responsible for non-contact lower body injuries than natural grass fields. But the NBC report penned by Josh Alper says that "the committee found that the rate of injuries that occur in the lower extremities without contact from another player was 0.001 higher per 100 plays on turf than it was on grass."
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Carter, who just wrapped up his third season in green, challenged those on the study committee to play four periods at MetLife before drawing any conclusions.
"Need some of these people to go into MetLife and bounce off that turf for 3 hours and tell me how you feel after vs grass," Carter said on X, quoting NBC's coverage of the study and capping off his comment with a laughing emoji.
The Jets' home in East Rutherford, NJ has been particularly notorious for non-contact lower body injuries, prematurely ending the seasons of stars like Joey Bosa, Jimmy Garoppolo, and, of course, Aaron Rodgers, whose inaugural Jets season lasted only four snaps after enduring a torn ACL in the Week 1 win over Buffalo.
The shared home of the Jets and Giants installed a new playing surface prior to this season but that failed to draw mitigate any complaints: Miami Dolphins running back Raheem Mostert publicly called for another switch after teammate Jaelan Phillips endured an Achilles injury during a November win while Jets receiver Garrett Wilson called it "garbage" after he had to leave the team's home win over Philadelphia the month before.
Fortunately for the Jets, Carter, who has turned out to be a solid fifth-round find, hasn't been eaten by the turf monster yet, as he's missed just four games over his first three seasons.
