The NFL says Guardian Caps are working.
Guardian Caps — the padded soft shells worn over football helmets — have become a staple of training camp practices, and today Jeff Miller, NFL Executive Vice President overseeing player health and safety, said that there’s been a significant decrease in concussions.
According to Miller, there has been a 52 percent decrease in concussions suffered by players at positions wearing Guardian Caps, compared to the concussion rate of players at the same positions over the last three years of training camps when Guardian Caps weren’t worn.
As a result, this year the NFL has more players wearing Guardian Caps, and they’re wearing them longer into the preseason. There are still no plans, however, to have players wear Guardian Caps during games.
The NFL is also continuing to promote research and development into position-specific helmets, such as helmets with more padding at the back of the helmet for quarterbacks, who get a large proportion of their concussions when the backs of their heads hit the ground. Miller said the early data on that front is promising.