The NFL is always careful to make everyone believe nothing is more important than player safety. Others might not agree.
One change NFL stadiums hosting matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup made was to switch artificial turf surfaces to natural grass. The New England Patriots were one organization that made changes to cater to the soccer world. Yet now that Gillette Stadium is no longer hosting soccer games, they've gone back to their previous turf surface.
That decision is now under scrutiny.
Gillette Stadium hosted seven World Cup matches. All were played on grass. Yet, now that World Cup matches are done being hosted by Gillette Stadium, the Patriots will be forced to play on turf again, even though players would likely prefer to be on grass instead.
One person who noticed the change and decided not to bite his tongue is former Green Bay Packers offensive tackle David Bakhtiari . The two-time All-Pro took to X to call out the Patriots for what he believes is a double standard when it comes to preaching the right thing, but not backing up their words with actions.
"Tell me you don't care about player's safety, without telling me you don't care about player's safety? @NFL"
Bakhtiari understands it because he's lived it. While he played effectively for 11 seasons in the NFL, some might argue the 34-year-old three-time Pro Bowler should still be competing on a weekly basis.
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Yet, he also suffered several serious injuries in the NFL, including a torn ACL in 2020. Some would argue he was never the same after that. Bakhtiari played in just one game the next season, 11 the next, and then one more before injuries cut his career short. He never made another Pro Bowl appearance after suffering the torn ACL.
The general belief is that players suffer more injuries playing on artificial or turf surfaces than they do when performing on grass fields. Bakhtiari is clearly a subscriber to that theory, and he's not alone.
Here, the Patriots are being criticized for not listening to the various studies suggesting one surface leads to fewer lower leg injuries than others. As a billion-dollar organization, the Patriots clearly have the money to do what many believe is right, yet maintaining an artificial surface comes at a reduced cost.
In other words, the Patriots, and many other NFL franchises, are choosing to save a few bucks rather than protect their players in the best way possible. As a result, it's only fair for them to receive criticism, especially from those who have lived it, like Bakhtiari.
