NFL players have been making their case for natural grass, and Jonathan Taylor just added his voice to the chorus.
The Colts running back took to X on Friday evening with a blunt message about what he believes should come next for the league: "Natural grass isn't out of reach. Prioritizing players shouldn't be either! We're #WorthTheCost".
Taylor’s post lands in the middle of a wider debate that has only grown louder around the NFL. Players around the league have increasingly pushed for grass over artificial turf, arguing that the surface can lead to more injuries - especially to the ACL and Achilles.
The numbers across the league show just how split things are right now. Of the NFL’s 30 stadiums, 15 use artificial turf and 15 use natural grass. Lucas Oil Stadium is among the turf venues.
The argument from players is not just about preference. It’s about what they believe happens to their bodies on the field. Turf, they say, can bring higher injury rates and longer recovery times after games.
That concern has been sharpened by what happened to Colts starting quarterback Daniel Jones. He tore his Achilles on a drop back in a Week 14 loss last season to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
There’s also a practical side to the discussion. The installation of natural grass for the World Cup in stadiums that normally use turf showed that the switch can be made, even in places like AT&T Stadium, Gillette Stadium, Lumen Field, NRG Stadium, SoFi Stadium, and MetLife Stadium.
For Taylor, the message was simple: the league can do it, and he thinks it should.
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The individual valuations are the kind that make sense on paper and still feel uncomfortable in practice. Latu is viewed as having enough pass-rush upside to draw serious interest, Nelsons combination of pedigree and market scarcity still carries real value, and Taylor remains the sort of player whose name would resonate around the league even with the running back market where it is. The point of the breakdown is less about a looming deal than about how expensive it would be for the Colts to even consider one. [Read more 🡒]