Video above: Can the NFL do more to prevent concussions?

Several NFL players, such as Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive tackle Luke Goedeke, are sporting a specific type of helmet accessory. It includes safeties like Taylor Rapp of the Buffalo Bills and Jabrill Peppers from the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as Los Angeles Rams linemen Kevin Dotson and Alaric Jackson, among others. 

They’re more common during training camp, of course, but padded helmets have gained popularity during the NFL regular season. 

This added layer that gives helmets a noticeably larger appearance is called a Guardian cap. Produced by Guardian, this cap aims to provide a “soft shell barrier” to reduce the impact forces on the player’s head.

The NFL’s past findings highlighted that the Guardian cap can diminish at least 10% of the impact force when a helmet is hit. If both players are equipped with these caps, it cuts the force by 20% in total.

The NFL has mandated, since 2022, that certain players wear these lightweight Guardian caps during practice sessions. The league reported a significant drop in concussions during the 2023 training camp, marking a seven-year low.

Last season was the first in which players were allowed to wear the Guardian caps during games. The move seemed to prove beneficial.

This decline in concussions was attributed by the NFL to enhancements in helmet safety since 2021 and modifications to kickoff rules, which together contributed to the notably low concussion rates seen in the 2024 season.

James Daniels, an offensive lineman for the Miami Dolphins and a former player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was among the first to wear a Guardian cap in a regular-season game during 2024. Notably, during the 2022 season, Daniels continued using the cap during training, even though it wasn’t a league requirement then.

He said last year that his head didn’t hurt after wearing the cap, and that he hoped “more and more people start wearing them.” 

While the helmet padding hasn’t taken the league by storm, it does appear that more players have opted to wear the caps. 

Slideshow: NFL players wearing Guardian caps

In addition to Daniels, NFL players who have again opted to wear a Guardian cap this season include: Dotson, Doubs, Goedeke, Rapp, Peppers, and Atlanta Falcons linebacker JD Bertrand. In total, Guardian reports 11 NFL players have worn its padded helmet cap this year, with others including Jackson, Packers wide receiver Savion Williams, and Dolphins offensive lineman Cole Strange.

Others, however, appear to have shed the cap, at least as of Week Four of the season. That includes Philadelphia Eagles tight end Kylen Granson, Bills safety Damar Hamlin, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen, Dolphins running back De’Von Achane, New York Giants offensive guard Aaron Stinnie, and Indianapolis Colts offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann. 

Granson, previously of the Colts, was among the loudest advocates for the padded helmets last season, saying in part that while the special caps “may not be as aesthetically pleasing,” the health benefits would “allow [fans’] favorite players to play longer and play safer.”

Instead, the tight end has opted for extra padding within his helmet, his wife, Daisy Foko Granson, explained on TikTok, saying it “tested the same for safety [and] it’s a little more sleek.”

The NFL has been updating its helmet guidelines annually, identifying the headgear that has passed its laboratory testing and those that have not. The latter will either be listed as “not recommended” or prohibited for use in the league.

Achane similarly swapped out his Guardian cap for a helmet with extra padding inside late last season, despite speaking highly of the former option.

Several NFL players have opted for specially designed helmets to protect their heads. 

You’ve seen them on the likes of San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Nick Bosa and Baltimore Ravens tight end Charlie Kolar. 

When they launched in 2021, the VICIS ZERO2 TRENCH was billed as the first position-specific helmet and named one of the best inventions of 2021 by Time Magazine. Intended for linemen, the helmets appear almost to have a bill or a beak on the top, slightly elevating and extending the helmet over the facemask. 

Multiple models of the VICIS ZERO2 TRENCH helmets scored highly in the latest round of testing by the NFL.

You may also notice some NFL players wearing an additional accessory intended to protect their brains during head impacts: the Q-Collar.

That includes Kolar, Tennessee Titans’ Tony Pollard, Kansas City Chiefs’ Drue Tranquill, and New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner.

The Q-Collar, according to the FDA, compresses against the jugular veins in the wearer’s neck. This is meant to increase the volume of blood in the skull’s vessels in order to create “a tighter fit of the brain inside the skull.” That tighter fit can then reduce the “slosh” movement.”

While the FDA authorized the product for marketing, the agency did warn that Q-Collars shouldn’t be used by athletes with certain conditions. It also noted that the collars cannot prevent concussions or serious head injuries.