What are Guardian Caps? Will NFL players wear them on the field this season? And are they safer?
As the league looks to reduce concussions and head injuries, it’s now allowing players to wear the padded helmets during games.
As the NFL and football fans’ awareness of repeated head trauma and CTE dangers grow, scientists continue to look for new ways to protect players’ health.
One new technology that has been tested in NFL practices is the Guardian Cap, a helmet accessory that the league says has reduced concussions by nearly 50%.
The Guardian Cap is just one piece of the puzzle to reduce the NFL’s concussion rates. Here’s everything you need to know about the new helmet accessories and when we might see them on the field:
What is the Guardian Cap?
The Guardian Cap is a soft, padded outer shell that goes on top of a player’s helmet.
The Guardian website explains some of the science behind the cap: “Physics say that an outer ‘soft’ material of the proper density, stiffness and energy-absorbing properties reduces the initial severity of the impact. The hard shell then has lower forces transmitted to it, and in turn conveys lower forces to the interior soft helmet padding and then lower forces to the head.”
The softer cover provides an additional barrier between the head and the point of contact, making it safer for players.
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When were Guardian Caps introduced in the NFL?
Teams have been wearing Guardian Caps in practices since 2020. The NFL launched the program with a limited number of teams before mandating the caps for offensive and defensive linemen, tight ends, and linebackers in training camp in 2022.
“I think we look a little goofy, but they’re there for good reason,” Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert said in 2022 at that first practice. “They did studies with them, and you know, if there’s anything to keep us safer, why not do it? You only get one brain, so I might as well keep it as best you can. It doesn’t feel like it’s any more heavy to me. When I take it off, I’ll be even faster.”
Then-Eagle Jason Kelce famously added an extra layer of protection that day: Bubble Wrap.
“They’re just trying to make it a safer game,” Kelce said at the time, adding that he was “just having some fun” with the Bubble Wrap. “Trying to protect the health of the players as much as they can, so it’s just the newest thing. I mean, they said a Guardian Cap adds 20% protection — figure the Bubble Wrap gave me another two or three.”
In 2023, the NFL expanded the Guardian Cap mandate to include all preseason, regular season, and postseason contact practices, and added running backs and fullbacks to the position list. Receivers and defensive backs were added to the list this season.
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Do Guardians Caps work?
The NFL said earlier this year that it saw a nearly 50% decrease in concussions during mandatory practices among those who wore the Guardian Caps.
Guardian claims the NFL cap reduces what it calls HARM (Head Acceleration Response Metric) by up to 40% on collisions. The severity of player impact in a collision is reduced by 10% with a Guardian Cap, and reduced by at least 20% if both players in the collision are wearing Guardian Caps.
NFL players can wear them in games — but will they?
In April, the NFL announced that players were allowed to wear the helmet padding on the field in regular-season games.
“We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions among players who wear Guardian Caps during practice, so players will be permitted to wear the cap during games this upcoming season,” NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller told ESPN. “Additionally, there are new helmets this year that provide as much — if not more — protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap. These developments represent substantial progress in our efforts to make the game safer for players.”
Will they do it? That’s a different question.
“I hope not, because they show our swag will be ugly,” Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said. “They are for our safety, so if they wear them for safety that’s cool. I’m sure I’ll clown them.”
No Eagles player wore them in the preseason opener against the Ravens on Friday night.
What do NFL players think about Guardian Caps?
The caps got high marks from players for improving their safety, but low marks for swag.
“It doesn’t look the best,” cornerback Kelee Ringo said. “I feel like I’m a swag type of guy myself, so obviously it doesn’t look very good, but whatever is going to help make the game safer, honestly. I’m not too worried about it. At first it was like, oh man, but shoot, whatever keeps us safe and helps us play the next day.”
“It impacts my swag,” Slay said. “My game is part of my swag. If I ain’t looking the part, I don’t feel the part. It has me looking very ugly out there with that big old cap on my head.”
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Will they look different during games?
While no Eagles elected to wear the Guardian Cap against the Ravens, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, from Salem, N.J., was one of the first NFL players to wear one on the field during a preseason game.
He wore it with a swim cap-like covering over top that featured the Colts logo and matched the team’s regular helmet design.