In a continued effort to improve player safety, the NFL is allowing hardware to move from practice fields to regular games.
On Thursday, the NFL released a video of a recent health and safety webinar in which league executives revealed that players will be allowed to wear padded Guardian caps during games next season.
“If players wish, they have the option of wearing them in games,” said Dawn Aponte, the league's director of football administration. “A number of clubs already required all players to wear helmets, and last year we expanded that to include regular-season practices, helmet-wearing practices, and the postseason.”
(You can watch the video here. Aponte's remarks are at the 37:45 mark.)
As Aponte mentioned, the NFL required all players except quarterbacks, kickers and punters to wear Guardian caps during the early practices of training camp. Last season, that requirement also applied to regular-season contact practices.
Players across the league are wearing Guardian caps during 2022 preseason practices. This is the latest example of the NFL's continued efforts to develop better protective equipment and foster innovation that makes the game safer for players. pic.twitter.com/gB4aAF7YHG
— NFL (@NFL) July 27, 2022
According to the NFL, players wearing Guardian caps may reduce the impact of helmet collisions by at least 10%. When both players wearing shells collided in a helmet-to-helmet collision, the impact force was reduced by at least 20%.
In 2021, the Los Angeles Rams chose to continue using the cap during late-season practices to prevent further injuries to players. According to USA Today, quarterback Matthew Stafford was injured when his hand hit his uncapped helmet during a throw-through.
Whether players will wear padded shell helmet covers during games will not be known until the NFL preseason and regular season begin. Some may choose not to wear it discreetly in the field. For example, JJ Watt said during 2022 training camp that wearing a cap “feels like a bobblehead” and could “fall over.”
However, some people choose safety over beauty. Aponte said the players and team have been “very receptive to change.” Additionally, players were encouraged to use position-specific helmets based on their specific risk factors for head injury.
