Sterling Shepard, the longest tenured Giant and the last link to the team’s last playoff appearance, was lost for the season with a torn ACL in the waning moments of Monday night’s game against the Cowboys.
The play where the injury occurred saw nobody in the vicinity of the veteran receiver, who simply seemed to slow up after an interception before suddenly grabbing at his knee and falling to the MetLife Stadium turf in obvious pain.
That turf was the subject of heavy criticism on social media after the injury, with many seeing the incident as another indictment on the turf at MetLife, which has seemingly claimed multiple injuries in recent years. One player who has plenty of familiarity with the turf was one of those to criticize it, and turf surfaces in general.
Odell Beckham Jr., Shepard’s former teammate, called for the turf to be replaced considering the league can easily afford to keep up with grass surfaces, which are easier on the lower body. Beckham suffered a season-ending ankle injury at MetLife during his time with Big Blue, and didn’t like seeing his fellow receiver suffer a similar fate.
“Just get rid of it all the fkngether bro,” Beckham tweeted. “Billions made off this game I can’t understand why we can’t play on grass. That s--t is rough. Prayers up for my brother. S--t just hurt my heart.”
Logan Ryan called out the turf last year following a season-ending injury to Jabrill Peppers, not long after Blake Martinez suffered a similar injury on his home turf. Clearly, multiple players take issue with the playing surface at MetLife.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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