Aaron Rodgers’s Former Packers Teammate Blames MetLife Stadium Field for QB’s Injury

Rodgers’s former teammate believes the turf at MetLife Stadium was responsible for his injury.

Aaron Rodgers’s injury drew a multitude of reactions from across the NFL world, including a strong take from one of his longtime former teammates and protectors, David Bakhtiari.

The Packers offensive lineman took to X, formerly Twitter, to weigh in on Rodgers’s injury on his first drive with the Jets. Bakhtiari suggested that the artificial turf on the field at MetLife Stadium was the cause of the injury.

Bakhtiari expressed his displeasure with the NFL for not using grass fields in all of its stadiums, going on a fiery rant after the injury to his former teammate.

“Congrats NFL. How many more players have to get hurt on ARTIFICIAL TURF??! You care more about soccer players than us. You plan to remove all artificial turf for the World Cup coming up. So clearly it’s feasible,” wrote Bakhtiari. “I’m sick of this... Do better!” 

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Congrats @nfl. How many more players have to get hurt on ARTIFICIAL TURF??! You care more about soccer players than us. You plan to remove all artificial turf for the World Cup coming up. So clearly it’s feasible.
I’m sick of this..Do better!

— David Bakhtiari (@DavidBakhtiari) September 12, 2023

With the 2026 World Cup coming to the United States, many stadiums were planning to adopt a grass playing surface. Bakhtiari questioned why they wouldn’t do the same for the NFL games which are played on those same fields each year. 

“WTF!!!! That injury is TURF related. Can we put an end to this sh-- already?” wrote Bakhtiari in a separate post on X.

Bakhtiari and Rodgers were teammates in Green Bay from 2013-22, and the two-time All-Pro offensive tackle didn’t hide his opinion on the injury and the playing surface he believes was at the root of it.