NFL

NFL claim ‘Guardian Caps’ are reducing concussion by 50%

The ‘caps’ were introduced from the 2023 preseason with the NFL claiming that their use has lead to a dramatic reduction in concussions.

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NFL medical director Allen Sills stated on Friday that since players on all NFL 32 teams began wearing Guardian Caps last summer, the number of concussions within the sport has dropped by about 50 percent. “Guardian Caps have been a huge success for the NFL. They’ve resulted in a significant reduction in concussions in practice by about 50 percent over the past two preseasons,” the doctor said.

Beginning in the 2023 preseason, after conducting several studies, the NFL decided that players should wear these type of padded covers over their helmets in practices prior to the regular season to reduce the intensity of contact that caused a high number of concussions. Initially, it was thought that the use of this device could cause overheating problems for players during practices or that it could contribute to neck injuries.

Otis Reese sports a 'Guardian Cap' while his teammates do not.Kevin SabitusGetty Images

On the contrary, the benefits were as expected, leading to a significant reduction in concussions, allowing each player to decide to wear the Guardian Caps, not only in preseason games, but also in regular season games, as was the case in 2024. “We don’t see any negative effects of players wearing Guardian Caps in games, so we don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t have the freedom to wear them,” explained doctor Sills. In each of the four weeks this season, between five and ten players have worn them in each round.

Although the NFL expects the use of Guardian Caps to become more common among a greater number of players, it presently does not consider making their use mandatory due to the year-on-year improvement in the safety of helmets, which increasingly have better technology employed to reduce the force of impacts.

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