George Kittle Asks MetLife Stadium To Change ‘Butt of Jokes’ Turf Amid Recent Injuries

In the past 9 seasons, George Kittle has proved his worth in the NFL. As an elite tight end, he has played over a variety of surfaces of both kinds, natural grass and artificial turf.

Heading to New York in Week 9 to play the Giants meant he was returning to MetLife Stadium for the first time since 2020. Since this was his third game back after missing a few due to injury, it seems he had the condition of the turf on his mind.

Fans and players have routinely called out the MetLife Stadium management after the spate of injuries that have occurred on that turf over the past several years.

But despite those pleas, they seem to have fallen on deaf ears. When George Kittle was asked about his game against the New York Giants, he took the opportunity to sarcastically try to get the point across.

When someone’s field is the butt of a joke around all of social media constantly, on every NFL meme page, and everybody jokes about how bad it is, I feel like at that point, someone should just take a look at it. No NFL field should be the butt of a joke, ever.

George Kittle told reporters

The 32-year-old did mention that since the turf has endured a lot of activity, it has managed to pat down and become more usable. However, his words seem to indicate that the turf in MetLife Stadium is not risky.

George Kittle on the MetLife turf:

“When someone's field is the butt of a joke around all of social media constantly, on every NFL meme page, and everybody jokes about how bad it is, I feel like at that point, someone should just take a look at it. No NFL field should be the… pic.twitter.com/xjlE0bK8uz

— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) November 3, 2025

This season alone, the Giants lost wide receiver Malik Nabers to an ACL tear. His absence was clearly evident as the home team struggled to score in the open field despite the exceptional efforts of rookie QB Jaxson Dart.

George Kittle wants NFL to impose a standard across teams

The owners of MetLife Stadium, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, used the UBU Speed S5-M for 12 years until they decided to change it in 2022.

They then switched to FieldTurf CORE, a product that is also used by 4 other NFL teams, which has been criticized for the toll it takes on the body. George Kittle, while speaking about the turf, then said this:

I just don’t get why there’s not a standard for, ‘Hey, you’ve got to pick between 1 or 2 turfs.’ There shouldn’t be 12 different turfs and 12 different grass fields. I just think it’s weird.

The 6-time Pro Bowler went on to detail how there are standards in other sports, such as basketball and soccer, where teams are not allowed to do what they please.

Kittle believes those standards should be applicable in the NFL, especially when the league’s foremost motive should be to ensure its players are safe and healthy.

George Kittle and 49ers might miss out on playoffs

With this win over the New York Giants, the San Francisco 49ers move to 6-3. In any other division, that record should be good enough to build towards a playoff seeding.

In the NFC, that record is only good for 6th. Even that is not safe, as there are a few teams breathing down their necks. With nearly half the season left, playoff seedings are up in the air.

George Kittle and his teammates have not necessarily set the football world alight this season. Injuries to key players have also put a dampener on their mood.

Those instances could combine to hand them a disappointing end to their season. The 49ers could miss out on the postseason, despite what their current record suggests.

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