Six-Time Pro Bowl WR Brandon Marshall Blames MetLife Stadium's Terrible Turf Field For Career-Ending Injury

Brandon Marshall last played a down in the NFL on October 14, 2018. He has not played professional football, outside of a short stint on the Steelers' training camp roster that next summer, since.

Although the early portion of Marshall's career was one of the most dominant runs of the late 2000s and early/mid 2010s, his production fell off of a cliff in 2016. Artificial turf was the culprit, according to the six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver himself.

Brandon Marshall spent the first four years of his career in Denver, the next two in Miami, and three in Chicago. And then, on March 10, 2015, the Bears traded him to the Jets.

Although he had a 1,502-yard season in that first year with New York, there was a stark decline in 2016. That was followed by two career-worst years with the Giants and Seahawks in 2017 and 2018.

On October 8, 2017, Marshall was carted off of the field with a season-ending injury that ultimately led his career to end not long thereafter. This is where the turf comes into play.

New York Giants WR Brandon Marshall (15) is injured on October 8, 2017, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Marshall has not been one to stay silent in quasi-retirement. The 39-year-old speaks his mind.

During a candid interview with Doctor Mike, Marshall faulted MetLife Stadium for his downfall.

That was pretty much the last of me. I felt like I could've played a couple of more years, you know? That play was over.

On the play that ultimately ended his career, Marshall chased a deep ball out of bounds and lost his footing. His legs went in two different, unnatural directions and he ultimately snapped the deltoid ligament in his ankle.

That’s really hard to do. That’s like a car accident. I knew it was over.

Marshall is not the first, nor the last player to blame a season-ending (or career-ending) injury on the turf in New Jersey. It has long been the topic of discontent amongst players throughout the league.

So much so that the Jets and Giants had to replace its playing surface back in March. Although it remains an artificial turf surface, there are plans to lay grass down the road. There is no timeline for that to happen at this point.