Pro Football Network
August 8, 2024
What are NFL Guardian Caps? Here’s everything you need to know about the league’s new helmet, including whether players will wear them in regular-season games.
You might have noticed your favorite NFL player looking slightly different at training camp over the last several seasons.
Guardian Caps — helmet coverings intended to add extra protection against head injuries –have become the norm for NFL players during summer practice sessions.
What does the future of Guardian Caps look like? Are NFL players required to wear them in training camps? Will any player wear a Guardian Cap in a regular-season game?
Let’s dig into all those questions while exploring the NFL’s newest safety tool.
NFL Guardian Cap FAQ: Explaining Football’s New Helmet
What Are Guardian Caps?
Guardian Caps are soft-shell helmet covers designed to reduce concussions. Invented in 2010, they are engineered to lessen the impact of head-to-head collisions.
Are Guardian Caps Mandatory?
Yes and no.
The NFL introduced Guardian Caps during 2022 training camps. In 2023, the league required positions that receive the most head contact — running backs, linemen, and linebackers — to wear the extra padding in camp.
In 2024, every position, excluding quarterbacks and specialists, was mandated to use a Guardian Cap in training camp. NFL players who wore one of six new helmet models approved by the league and the NFLPA were exempt from using Guardian Caps.
The NFL also approved Guardian Caps for in-game use in 2024. It’s a significant reversal for the league, which prohibited the use of Guardian Caps during games in 2023.
“We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions among players who wear Guardian Caps during practice, so players will be permitted to wear the cap during games this upcoming season,” NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said in a statement.
“Additionally, there are new helmets this year that provide as much — if not more — protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap. These developments represent substantial progress in our efforts to make the game safer for players.”
Will NFL Players Wear Guardian Caps in Games?
This is the big question: Will any NFL player be willing to wear the Guardian Cap in a regular-season game? Or will the odd appearance turn off players despite the health benefits?
Pittsburgh Steelers guard James Daniels plans to wear a Guardian Cap during Friday night’s preseason game against the Houston Texans, as Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes.
In 2022, Daniels kept wearing his Guardian Cap even after the portion of camp when they were mandated.
“I think they help,” Daniels said this week. “The NFLPA is doing a lot — just how training camp is set up, all the new rules, lowering the head, all that stuff with the new kickoff. I feel like they’re trying to make the game safer, so if they’re giving us an opportunity to make the game safer, I feel like it’d be kind of like spitting in their face not to use it.”
However, Daniels seems to be in the minority among NFL players. On Tuesday, Pro Football Network’s Adam Beasley asked six Miami Dolphins players whether they’d wear a Guardian Cap in a game — and none were open to the idea.
“No way,” said Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks. “It’s like an extra 10 pounds on your head, makes it a lot hotter, heavier. No, I wouldn’t do it.”
Brooks then quipped: “They call them UFO caps.”
Count Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay among the anti-Guardian Cap crowd too.
“Oh, I can’t stand them. It impacts my swag,” Slay told Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports this week. “My game is part of my swag. If I ain’t looking the part, I can’t feel the part. They have me looking very ugly out there with that big ol’ cap on the head.”
Do Guardian Caps Work?
Earlier this year, Miller indicated players who wore Guardian Caps during training camp experienced a 50% reduction in concussions over those who did not.
Per the NFL, wearing a Guardian Cap can reduce the severity of head impacts by at least 10%. If two players wearing Guardian Caps combine for a helmet-to-helmet collision, the impact force is reduced by at least 20%.
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