NFL to require Guardian Caps to be worn over helmets in training camps

The move is intended to reduce avoidable head contact between the start of training camp and the second preseason game.

PALM BEACH — The NFL and NFL Players Association have imposed the Mandatory use of Guardian Cap covers over helmets for certain positions during a key portion of training camp, when concussions and head contact usually escalate, league officials said Tuesday.

The joint resolution, approved during a morning session at the annual meetings of owners of the NFLwill require that offensive and defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackerswear the Guardian Caps for all preseason practices between the start of the contact period in training camp, until the second meeting of the preseason.

Shells are made of soft cushions that adhere to the outside of the helmet, and are used with some frequency in college football. Teams of the NFL they have experimented with them sporadically in recent years. According to the company that makes them, the current version reduces the force of contact to the head by up to 20 percent, if all players involved are using it. Guardian Cap developed the technology in part through a grant from the NFL in 2017.

The mandate represents a significant first step in the league’s effort to eliminate all avoidable head contact, a goal the league’s chief medical officer NFL, Dr. Allen Sillsannounced earlier this year.

“Even if there is no change to the number of concussions with this intervention,” he said. sills“we would still consider it worthwhile if it reduces the strength each player receives.”

The NFL has decreased his number of concussions since sills issued a call to action in 2018. There were 187 concussions reported in 2021, between the start of training camp and the end of the regular season, a drop from the average of 266.3 reported between 2015 and 2017. sills He said in February that the league had begun work to lessen the effects of all head contact, whether or not it results in concussion.

“We know that some head contact inevitably occurs in sports of all kinds,” he explained, “but we want to focus on the part that we think is avoidable.”

The first two weeks of training camp produce a high frequency of concussions — about 30 a year — and a higher degree of head contact overall, according to the executive vice president of health and safety at the NFL, Jeff Miller. Part of the rise in numbers can be attributed to the number of players involved at the start of training camp, many of whom are unlikely to make the final rosters. But that first portion consists of heavy, full-equipment practices and heavy use of physical exercises, such as 9-on-7 drills, to acclimate teams to contact.

Head contact rate declines after the second preseason game, when most teams take on less of a physical workload. Players will be encouraged, but not required, to wear a Guardian Cap from there.

Meanwhile, according to Millerthe NFL and NFLPA they also agreed to require all players to wear mobile technology during preseason practices and simulations. The resulting data will give the league and union a better idea of ​​work during that period, providing a more accurate aggregation of trends across the league.

Most cell phones — notably those from Zebra Technologies and Catapult — but the resolution will standardize the practice. Teams will be asked to submit video of two full training camp practices to confirm if training plans match actual training activity.