The Guardian Cap has become an effective tool for limiting head trauma in training-camp practices. And the news regarding the 52-reduction in concussions could make a player inclined to use it during a game.
On Saturday, a coach raised that very question with us. What if a player who likes the Guardian Cap and feels safer wearing it wants to use it during a game?
So we asked the league. And the answer would be no.
“A player would be prohibited from wearing a Guardian Cap during a game,” chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said via email. McCarthy also pointed out comments from NFL executive V.P. Jeff Miller during a recent media call regarding health and safety issues.
“What I do think, ultimately, over the next two, or three, or five years is that some of the improvements made to overall helmets will incorporate some benefits of the Guardian Cap,” Miller said. “In other words, the offensive lineman-specific helmet will probably — probably — have the same benefit to a player as wearing a regular helmet as a Guardian Cap would. And so you may not need a Guardian Cap. Or, another add-on — which I don’t contemplate right now — for the Guardian Cap itself, is it will evolve in such a way that it will mitigate even more of the forces without any detrimental impact.
“Because that’s part of the equation here, too. I was really excited by the benefit that we saw from Guardian Caps this past year, but we were interested in studying the heat, interested in studying the neck forces and potential stingers, interested in getting the player feedback — as we are this year with the modified Guardian Cap — before we make any informed decisions with the [NFL] Players’ Association about what happens next. I do think, to answer the question, the technology will continue to evolve — I
think relatively quickly — and I think with player feedback last year and this year on the Guardian Cap, we’ll be able to make more informed decisions about what the future of it looks like.”
As a practical matter, the league and its helmet partners are now in a race to innovate helmet design that provides Guardian Cap-style protection with the normal look of a helmet. While the league would likely never put it this way, aesthetics matter. How the game looks on TV. Helmets and colors and logos.
The Guardian Cap objectively doesn’t look good. It’s big and it’s bulky and it makes the helmet look like someone tried to soundproof it with egg cartons.
Still, until better helmets are made, the possibility of a player insisting on wearing the Guardian Cap lingers. And if a player chooses to push the issue, the league might not have any choice but to relent.
What if, for example, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa asked for permission to wear one? What if, after the league said no, Tua suffered another concussion?
For now, the league needs to hope no player makes a public push to wear the Guardian Cap during games — and the league needs to come up with a better helmet that provides the same protection as the Guardian Cap while also looking like a normal helmet.