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Stating the obvious, a healthy David Bakhtiari would do wonders for the Green Bay Packers offense and first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love this season. Unfortunately, turf fields have been an obstacle for the left tackle’s surgically-repaired knee, and the Packers play five of their nine road games on artificial grass in 2023.
Here are the five games and the type of turf:
Week 2 at Atlanta Falcons: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, FieldTurf CORE
Week 12 at Detroit Lions: Ford Field, FieldTurf CORE
Week 14 at New York Giants: MetLife Stadium, FieldTurf CORE
Week 16 at Carolina Panthers: Bank of America Stadium, FieldTurf
Week 17 at Minnesota Vikings: U.S. Bank Stadium, UBU Speed Series S5-M
Turf fields have been a topic of debate for more than a decade among NFL Players who believe they are less safe than natural grass. Bakhtiari is among those strongly opposed to playing on artificial fields, especially after experiencing some discomfort in his surgically-repaired knee during a game on turf last season. In Week 9 against the Detroit Lions, he missed most of the second half when the slit film turf caused his knee to flare up.
In the same game, Green Bay’s top edge rusher Rashan Gary tore his ACL, forcing him to miss the rest of the season. A week later, Bakhtiari took to Twitter to express his disapproval of NFL teams who still have turf fields.
Currently, 16 teams play on natural grass, while the remaining 14 play on turf.
“We know we play a sport that you’re going to get beat up. We all know what we sign up for,” Bakhtiari said in April on a discussion panel partnered with The Players’ Tribune and Pennington Lawn. “Being in the trenches, we’re in contact every play. Why add that extra bit of playing surfaces that are gonna further the injury rate or add to the injuries that are already going to come?”
Bakhtiari’s beef with turf clearly hits on a personal level, but he’s far from the only one who has been outspoken about it. In November of last season, NFLPA president JC Tretter penned a letter and cited data to suggest the injury rate was lower on natural grass, writing, “Injuries on slit film are completely avoidable.”
Slit film turf is still used on four playing surfaces in the NFL, with one being a division rival in the Vikings. It’s worth noting Bakhtiari did not suit up for the season opener last year in Minnesota.
When Tretter brought up artificial playing surfaces again in April (via ESPN), the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, public affairs, and safety, Jeff Miller, said in a statement that “there are no simple answers” and “some artificial turf surfaces have a lower injury rate than some grass fields — and some grass fields have a lower injury rate than some artificial surfaces.”
Fortunately, some teams have taken it upon themselves to make their playing surfaces safer. Since the end of last season, the Lions have done away with the slit film turf that affected Bakhtiari’s knee. Another one of Green Bay’s 2023 opponents, the Giants, also got rid of their slit film turf in favor of a new synthetic turf that they believe will decrease the number of injuries.
It’s a start, but turf fields could still present an enormous challenge for Bakhtiari. Coming off a season in which he missed six games, his knee remains a question mark, though he did sound optimistic during OTAs.
“I really like how I’m feeling,” he said while pointing out that this was his first surgery-free offseason in two years.
A healthy Bakhtiari would provide the Packers’ offensive line with a level of stability that was lacking in 2022. Injuries hit that unit hard last season, but Bakhtiari did show signs of his former All-Pro self by not allowing a single sack, according to Pro Football Focus.
In preparation for a grueling 17-game season, Green Bay hopes that more rest days will help preserve their premier left tackle. It may also be worth it to rotate snaps on turf surfaces like they did when the team traveled to London.
How the Packers approach Bakhtiari’s situation could directly impact their success in 2023. Even at 31 years of age, he can still play at a high level, but they need him to be on the field as much as possible. Ultimately, that may come down to how his knee holds up on turf.