Aaron Rodgers injury: Miami Dolphins veterans like Howard, Armstead prefer grass fields
MIAMI GARDENS — "Man, it's the same story, every year." - Xavien Howard
The veteran Dolphins cornerback saw the question coming from 50 yards away.
Grass or artificial turf field? What's your preference?
"The turf does not give," Howard said Wednesday. "So grass, you know, you can give, you can sink in, especially with me. I had a history of like my knees and stuff, so it's kind of hard just playing on turf because it's like, it's like just it keeps pounding and there's wear-and-tear on the knees."
Howard was asked the question - yes, yet again - because two days earlier, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles on the artificial surface at MetLife Stadium.
"I don't feel like it's changing no matter how much we've talked about it," Howard said. "It's cheaper."
Dolphins like playing on field at Hard Rock
Howard enjoys playing on the grass field of Hard Rock Stadium.
"I love it. I love the field. I love the grass," Howard said
The NFLPA wants all owners to discard turf in favor of grass.
The league says there is no proof that the turf leads to more Achilles injuries.
But most players seem to prefer to avoid turf.
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Howard was told that for the upcoming World Cup, any artificial turf surfaces are being swapped out for grass.
"Messi," Howard said. "He's worth like a billion dollars."
But the truth is NFL players are worth millions to teams worth billions.
"I'm a grass fan," veteran offensive tackle Terron Armstead said Wednesday. "Always been always been a fan of grass. I don't know what the analytics are about, you know, spikes on the turf or grass. I'm a fan of grass. I played this game forever since I was five years old on grass."
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Tight end Durham Smythe said when he entered the league in 2018, veterans were cautioning him about the long-term effect of turf. He was skeptical.
"But pretty quickly now, I've really swung the other side and I'm much more pro-grass than anything else," Smythe said. "I think that's as you get older, and that's just a natural thing. But it's, it's definitely you can, you can feel it. As you get older in your joints and things obviously with the injuries that happen on it. I'm definitely pro-grass."
Dolphins receiver River Cracraft much prefers natural grass fields.
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"Absolutely," Cracraft said Wednesday. "I blew my knee out on turf. On a non-contact injury in college. So, definitely team grass. I hate seeing guys get hurt. Obviously with (Aaron) Rogers getting hurt the other day. You don't want any guys around the league to get hurt.
"It's sucks and when people say that it could be preventable, you know, you just wish that people would look more into it. I'm not an expert on turf and grass. But I do know that grass is more forgiving on your joints from personal experience."
Joe Schad is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on social media platforms @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Aaron Rodgers Achilles: Dolphins questioning artificial playing surfaces
