From 'I'm all for them' to 'Ew': How NFL players, coaches see Guardian Caps
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Turron Davenport, ESPN
JONATHAN TAYLOR’S OVERSIZED helmet created a buzz when he took the field for his first preseason game. It had a disproportionately larger appearance than those of most of his teammates because of a new accessory.
“Ew,” Minnesota Vikings linebacker Jonathan Greenard posted in response to a picture on social media.
It was all in reaction to Guardian Caps, which were making their in-game debut in Week 1 of the preseason, and the Indianapolis Colts running back was getting most of the headlines and comments.
The cap is a soft-shell pad that attaches to the outer layer of the helmet to absorb contact, the latest tool approved by the NFL to try to make football safer. The shell can help minimize the impact of violent collisions and cut down on concussions.
Taylor was one of six players who elected to wear the cap during Week 1 of the preseason. Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman James Daniels and four other Colts also wore it: safety Rodney Thomas II, tight end Kylen Granson, linebacker Grant Stuard and running back Zavier Scott.
“[I was] just trying it out to see what it’s like,” Taylor said. “It doesn’t feel different. It’s really a sense of does it get in the way, do people grab at it? The only way to know is to wear it in a game.”
Guardian Caps were first seen at NFL practices in 2020 when the Jacksonville Jaguars introduced them to their players, and league mandates have trickled down since.
“The Guardian Cap has been a very important change for us as it has shown to reduce impact,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said at the annual league meeting in March. “It has been very effective and has reduced concussions by 52%.”
GUARDIAN CAPS WERE first mandated after the league meeting in March 2022.
Offensive linemen, defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackers were required to wear them during every preseason practice between the start of the training camp contact period and the second preseason game that year. The league targeted those positions because that’s where most high-impact collisions occur on a play-by-play basis.
The mandate expanded to include running backs and fullbacks in 2023. Regular and postseason practices were added to the requirements last year. The results gathered by the NFL showed significant improvements for the position groups that wore the caps.
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Guardian Caps have been shown to reduce impact by up to 33%, according to the manufacturer’s website. The ones used by the NFL reduce the head acceleration response metric up to 40% (HARM is used to measure “brain strain” during a collision).
Defensive backs and wide receivers were added to the position groups required to wear them during practice this season. Quarterbacks, punters and kickers will have the option to wear them during practice as well.
While the Guardian Caps mandate remains in place, there’s also an alternative. Players are exempt from wearing them if they select one of the six new helmet models that provide equal or better protection, according to the league and the NFL Players Association.
The options expanded to eight different position specific helmets available to players this season. Roughly 200 players from the various 90-man rosters have been trying the new helmets.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa also wears the Vicis helmet to help prevent concussions. He played a full season for the first time in his four-year career while wearing the helmet and taking up jiu-jitsu to help him learn how to fall without hitting his head on the ground.
GUARDIAN CAPS HAVE also been beneficial in an unintended way.
“I’ve seen multiple times where the quarterback’s hand hits the top of the guard or center’s helmet,” Titans coach Brian Callahan said during minicamp. “The impact is a lot less because it’s padded. I’ve seen a couple of saves from those Guardian Caps. I’m all for them.”
Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s hand hit one of the offensive lineman’s helmets in 2021 in his first offseason with the Los Angeles Rams. It could have been a rough start for the eventual Super Bowl champs that season.
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“It’s almost like you heard a gunshot,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I thought he broke his hand. If that does occur based on trying to simulate real rushes while staying off the quarterback and he does end up following through, it’s at least coming down on a pad.”
Guardian Caps weren’t mandatory in practice yet, but McVay placed an order to supply every offensive lineman with one.
McVay’s way is one example of what teams have done for safety, but as for the players themselves, they still strive to make sure they look good when they’re on the field, even during practice. And the cap, some players say, doesn’t look cool.
When asked about wearing Guardian Caps, Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo and Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Chris Lindstrom joked about not having any good pictures from practice.
“It messes up everybody’s swag on the field,” Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman told ESPN. “You will never see me wearing that in a game.”
While the caps help reduce the impact of collisions, the look has left some players skeptical.
“I don’t know about wearing it in games,” Titans center Lloyd Cushenberry added. “Swag over safety a little bit. It looks kind of goofy, but I get the safety to it.”
PROTECTIVE HEADGEAR HAS come a long way since the 1990s when Buffalo Bills safety Mark Kelso and wide receiver Don Beebe, along with 49ers offensive lineman Steve Wallace, wore a half-inch Styrofoam and rubber layer called the Pro Cap over their helmets. Kelso, Beebe and Wallace used the padding because they had suffered concussions and wanted to reduce the likelihood of them happening again.
The Pro Cap concept was originated by Bert Straus of Protective Sports Equipment Inc. Straus attempted to take his idea a step further in 2007 with a soft layer built into the helmet, which he called ”The Gladiator.”
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The helmet was meant to provide lightweight protection without metal pieces, thus reducing neck strain and fatigue. Straus sought out Erin and Lee Hanson of the Hanson Group to serve as consultants. Their goal was to develop a material for the helmets that wouldn’t crack.
Unfortunately, Straus’ Gladiator helmet concept never caught on. But the Hansons felt a calling to create a safe helmet addition when their son, Jake, started playing football because of the extensive research they did on concussions. The result was the Guardian Cap.
“We’re like, OK, now we know too much,” Erin Hanson said regarding their research. “We’ve done too much of the background. We’ve got too much of the data under our belts. Somebody’s got to do something to get soft-shell technology back into these guys’ hands.”
The standard Guardian Caps sold on the company website weigh around 7 ounces. The company added an additional layer of padding to the Guardian Caps the NFL players use because they’re typically bigger athletes who move at a higher speed. Those caps weigh anywhere from 12.5 to 14 ounces.
The Pro Cap encountered obstacles because it was bulky (21 ounces) and had to be created specifically to fit the different helmet brands. Lee Hanson designed the Guardian Cap with the capability of being retrofitted to any helmet because it was attached using clips.
Lindstrom has worn the Guardian Caps during practice for the last two seasons, but he isn’t wearing it on game day and doesn’t think it will be a popular choice among the players.
“I don’t want to speak for everybody,” Lindstrom said, “The injury statistics really prove its effectiveness, but I don’t think a lot of players will wear them.”
WEARING ALL THE gear during full padded practices can be uncomfortable, especially in the blistering hot summer days of training camp. Adding another piece of equipment presented additional challenges for some last year.
“I’m not a fan of them at all,” Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts said. “It cuts off the holes in the helmet [for] circulation. So, it’s hot. It’s a lot of heat trapped in there.”
According to the Hansons, NFL studies found that the standard hard-shell helmets conduct heat whereas Guardian Caps reduce radiant heat up to 20 degrees.
“Most of the heat that evaporates comes out of your face mask,” Lee Hanson said. “So when they put the visors and all that stuff on, they’re blocking that heat escape.”
One immediate change is that Guardian Caps will now feature the team logo to match the helmet. Printing the logo directly on the uneven surface is difficult because of the various raised parts that resemble an egg carton.
The Hanson company first tested the Guardian Caps with logos on them last spring during collegiate practices for Georgia and Colorado. It has made improvements from the spring version. The cap has a close-fitting fabric cover that will have the logo printed on it.
The question is: Will players continue to be more worried about looking good on game day than being safe?
Finding a way to deliver the same layer of protection without the bulkiness could help spur more usage of the Guardian Caps. The Hansons just don’t want the adjustments to take away from the protection the product brings.
“You’ve got something that’s been unbelievable results for the last 12 years,” Erin Hanson said. “How much do you want to change it for swag? That’s the hard part. If we have less pads, is it going to be less protection?”
Safety is more of a focus for some players, such as Taylor, even if they are giving up some visual game-day appeal.
“The Guardian Cap might take the swag a few points down,” Titans back Tyjae Spears said. “I might wear it. You might not see those effects right now, but you got to get older. So, I think I’m going to protect myself.”
ESPN reporters Sarah Barshop, Jamison Hensley, Marc Raimondi and Stephen Holder contributed to this story.