If you’ve been watching NFL lately, you might have noticed players donning some strange additions to their helmets.
These are called Guardian Caps, and they exist for a good reason.
Of course, they look a bit silly even with logos all over them, but in a sport where the contacts can be huge, even a standard helmet isn’t enough.
What are Guardian Cap helmets in the NFL?
Guardian Caps are described as soft-shell coverings that are wrapped around the exterior of the hard caps.
They are designed to vastly reduce the impact of player collisions, and they’ve proven to be very effective.
The NFL‘s chief executive, Jeff Miller, revealed recently that, for those who wear them, there has been a 50 per cent reduction in concussions.
The severity of the collisions between players wearing Guardian Caps has also significantly reduced by 20 per cent.
Of course, it’s not a requirement for any player to wear a Guardian Cap during the regular season.
However, in practice, they all must wear them except quarterbacks.
Guardian Caps have been around for a while, but it’s only recently that they’ve been introduced into the NFL.
In training, they’ve been used for a while, but it was only earlier in 2024 that they decided to introduce them into gamedays.
Guardian Caps are designed by Guardian Sports, and they came about to prevent any major changes to the traditional hard helmets.
Many of the players who’ve worn these helmets only have good things to say about them.
Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is one of the players to don the Guardian Cap.
He said: “[I was] just trying it out to see what it’s like.
“It doesn’t feel different. It’s really a sense of does it get in the way, do people grab at it? The only way to know is to wear it in a game.”
Meanwhile, Taylor’s teammate, Kylen Granson is a fan, even if he thinks they look a bit stupid.
He said: “At one point people thought seatbelts were f****** stupid.
“Why wouldn’t I [wear it]? Just because it looks silly? I feel like health and safety is more important than aesthetics.”
Pittsburgh Steelers guard, James Daniels, wants to see more players wearing them.
“Hopefully, more and more people start wearing them.
“I truly believe they help, so I’m glad the NFL is allowing us to wear them. Hopefully, every week people start wearing them more and more. I’m excited for it.”
However, one who isn’t is Tua Tagovailoa, who cited his ‘personal choice’ in not adding extra protection despite his concussion issues.
