Odell Beckham Jr. last played in the NFL as part of the Miami Dolphins back in 2024. However, despite potentially being semi-retired, the Super Bowl champion had some strong words for the powers that be across the National Football League.
The New York Giants – Beckham’s first team, which he was drafted to with the 12th overall pick back in 2014 – suffered a major loss when second year Pro Bowl wideout, Malik Nabers, tore his ACL on Sunday in week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
And in the wake of that latest injury – Beckham made a plea to the league to ban the artificial playing turf for the sake of the players’ on-field health.
Odell Beckham JR. Speaks Out After Another Turf-Based Injury
Posting on X, the former three-time Pro Bowler was adamant that it was in the league and the individual players’ best interests to move away from artificial “turf”, and back to the more standard grass pitches of old.
Dear NFL, I mean this with the upmost love and respect.” Beckham Jr. wrote on Sunday night after the Giants game. We (The NFL) take all The precautions in the world with EVERYthing else when it comes to players “health” and “safety”. PLZ. PLZ. PLZ. GET RID OF THE 🤬 TURF. Thank You in advance. LUV”
This will also have a personal feel to the LSU alum, given that he tore his ACL in Super Bowl LVI, where his Los Angeles Rams beat the Cincinnati Bengals – also on artificial turf used at SoFi Stadium in LA.
Why Is OBJ Urging The League To Move Off Turf?
Injuries – plain and simple. Anecdotally, there is a general consensus amongst players that playing on grass is superior to playing on artificial turf.
Turf is harder than grass, and does not absorb force nearly as well. Equally – and perhaps most importantly in this case, it does not release cleats as well. This causes them to – at times – get stuck on the pitch, which even if only for a second or less, can result in a lower-body contortions, leading to possibly season-ending injuries.
NFL owners generally prefer turf over grass, as it is cheaper and easier to maintain. But there have been numerous high-profile instances in recent years that has done some pretty severe damage to its reputation with regards to its safety for players.
Most notably, future Hall of Fame quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, who famously tore his Achilles on just his fourth ever snap playing for the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium – the same place that Nabers most recently tore his ACL this past weekend.
A couple of months later, Miami Dolphins edge rusher, Jaelan Phillips, faced the same injury whilst going up against division rivals, the New York Jets. This drew quite the rebuke towards MetLife Stadium and its use of turf from his now-former teammate, Jevon Holland.
Turf is certainly the less safe option compared to natural grass. But the good news is that there does seem to be some sort of swinging tide; the Buffalo Bills‘ new stadium will have natural grass instead of the turf that is currently being used at Highmark Stadium.
The more teams that move off turf and onto grass, the likely better it will be for the players. The question, how many will ultimately do so.
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