The 2024 preseason marked the primary time NFL gamers got the choice of carrying protecting caps over their helmets throughout reside motion.
The choice carried over into the common season, and a few gamers continued to reap the benefits of the Guardian Cap coverage. A minimum of one Steelers participant was seen carrying the soft-shelled cap throughout Pittsburgh’s win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1.
A handful of different gamers across the league additionally opted for the preventive headgear.
The Guardian Cap was not broadly out there when J.J. Watt was wreaking havoc on an opposing group’s quarterback on a weekly foundation. The move rusher turned-NFL tv analyst shared his ideas on whether or not the protecting piece of apparatus could be a part of his uniform if he was nonetheless taking part in.
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J.J. Watt of the Arizona Cardinals throughout participant introductions earlier than the San Francisco 49ers sport at Levis Stadium on Jan. 8, 2023, in Santa Clara, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Photos)
Whereas Watt admitted particular person gamers have the proper to make their very own choice because it pertains to the Guardian Cap, he mentioned he wouldn’t put on it throughout video games.
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“I imply, if you wish to put on it, be happy to put on it,” Watt mentioned. “I imply, if it makes you’re feeling safer, completely.
“Would I put on it? Personally, no. However everybody will get to decide on what they need.”
Former NFL participant J.J. Watt earlier than a sport between the Tennessee Titans and the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 2, 2023, in Pittsburgh. (Cooper Neill/Getty Photos)
New England Patriots defensive again Jabrill Peppers was one among a number of gamers who placed on a Guardian Cap in Week 1. The previous Michigan soccer standout mentioned the protecting headgear added a layer of safety.
“It’s actually for these performs the place you may not see a man coming from the aspect and get incidental contact in your head,” Peppers mentioned. “However I don’t actually really feel something with it, so I like that quite a bit.”
Pepper additionally famous the Guardian Cap didn’t impede his capacity to carry out on the sphere.
“I’m a hitter, so the extra safety I can get, why not? So long as it’s not impeding me or slowing me down, I don’t see why not,” he added.
Elsewhere, Colts tight finish Kylen Granson additionally opted to put on the cap throughout Indianapolis’ sport towards the Houston Texans.
Bengals defensive deal with Jay Tufele tackles Indianapolis Colts tight finish Kylen Granson at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Aug. 22, 2024.
Granson pushed again towards the concept that the looks of the caps ought to affect his choice to position the soft-shelled headgear over his hard-shelled helmet.
“There’s no quantity of aesthetic that might outweigh what a TBI (traumatic mind harm) may do to you,” Granson mentioned by way of Instagram late final month. “And one of many extra unknown issues is that not solely is it the massive hits that you need to fear about, it’s the fruits of a bunch of little hits.”
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The Guardian Caps had been launched with the aim of decreasing the chance of head accidents when contact happens between gamers on any given play. The caps are designed to have the ability to soak up an estimated 10% of the power of successful, in keeping with analysis compiled by the NFL.
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