Giants offensive lineman blasts Bills' turf after injury

New York Giants offensive lineman Joshua Ezeudu suffered a potential season-ending injury to his right big toe during this past Sunday's 14-9 loss at the Buffalo Bills. He blasted the playing surface at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium following his setback. 

"Our turf is better," Ezeudu said about MetLife Stadium during a chat with Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "Turf is still turf, but I think our turf is better. There are just different types of turf. Our turf feels like, with its thickness, it actually gives some. Our turf, it feels more like grass. You still know it’s turf, but it’s way more thick [than the Bills’ surface]. It feels full [at MetLife Stadium]." 

Ezeudu offered his comments days after New York Jets star wide receiver Garrett Wilson generated headlines when he said the FieldTurf Core System at MetLife is "garbage." Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a torn Achilles at that venue in Week 1, but it's unclear if the turf caused his injury. 

Per Slater, the Bills use A-Turf Titan 50 at Highmark Stadium. According to ESPN, no other NFL stadium features that specific playing surface.

"Just a freak accident," Ezeudu added. "My toe, I guess, just got stuck in the turf as I planted my feet. Whatever happens, it was out of my control. I couldn’t control this, because I know I take care of my body. I still feel great. This is something that just happened that I couldn’t control. That’s really just all it is." 

Fans and analysts routinely criticize NFL owners for making players compete on artificial surfaces rather than natural grass fields. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN noted on Tuesday that NFL vice president of health and safety Jeff Miller said at this week's owners meetings he feels "the goal needs to be to limit the number of different surfaces that our clubs play on, so a player has an appreciation when he steps onto the field in one city that's going to feel very similar to the surface that he steps on in a different city so it doesn't feel hard or soft or slick or sticky."

Such recommendations will mean little to Ezeudu and others who are sidelined with injuries picked up while playing on turf this season.