The NFL has approved the use of Guardian Caps, the outer padding layer of football helmets, during games for the 2024 season.
The league said the cap is aimed at “reducing risk to players and continuing to drive innovation in equipment technology.” announcement.
“The Guardian Cap has been approved for in-game use this season,” the league added.
The NFL identified two specific areas where an unnecessary amount of head injuries occurred. First is practice and training camp.
“Two years of data shows a significant reduction in concussions among players who wear Guardian caps during practice,” said Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of player health and safety. “As a result of this, players will be allowed to wear caps during games this season.” .
After introducing the Guardian cap during training camp in 2022, the NFL mandated the wearing of the Guardian cap during preseason practices in 2023 and all regular season and postseason practices that involve contact.
The league said the force from head contact is reduced by 10% when one player wears a cap and by 20% when all players involved in the play wear caps. .
Kickoff is another area of concern. In the NFL, kickoffs cause twice as many concussions as regular football plays, as players sprint across the field and slam into each other. found.
“In recent years, player health and safety has been an area of focus as we track kickoff injury data,” Chief Football Administration Officer Dawn Aponte said.
“We’ve talked to athletic committees and owners’ health and safety committees, and we’ve found that specifically as it relates to concussions, the injury rate is twice as high as the injury rate in scrimmage play. did.”
Dr. Anne Bailey Good, beBiocore’s senior mechanical engineer explained that there are typically one or two new helmet designs that have made progress toward reducing head injuries. “This year,” she said, “this year she has five, which really speaks to the new technology that has been incorporated.” [the helmets]. ”
At the time, the NFL announced In 2024, a total of 12 new helmets will be available for players to choose from, including eight dedicated to linemen and quarterbacks.
“This year we’ve introduced new helmets that offer protection equal to or better than other helmet models combined with the Guardian Cap. These developments continue in our commitment to making the game safer for players. This represents significant progress,” added Vice President Miller.
Guardian caps during practice were mandatory for players in positions where there is a lot of contact during most plays, such as running backs, fullbacks, linemen, and linebackers.
This leaves kickers, punters, quarterbacks, wide receivers, and defensive backs as the only players not required to wear them.
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