JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah had a little bit of a different look on Sunday. And it wasn't his pregame fit .
The fourth-year linebacker out of Notre Dame was wearing a Guardian Cap on his helmet against the Jacksonville Jaguars , the first time a Browns player has done so during a regular season game.
"That thing was nice, though," Owusu-Koramoah said after the Browns' 18-13 win over the Jaguars . "It was nice. It was smooth. I didn't really feel anything really on the hit side. I'm very glad that we had the opportunity to wear those things. It was good wearing it. I felt good."
The Guardian Cap is a padded shell that helps absorb contact and potentially minimize head injuries. The cap is covered in a fabric that looks like the team's helmet.
The ones Browns players have worn in practice are all the base gray color. Owusu-Koramoah's game version matched perfectly to the iconic color scheme of the typical helmet.
"We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions among players who wear Guardian Caps," Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president overseeing player health and safety, said in a statement in April.
Erin Hanson, the founder and owner of the company that manufactures the helmet told the New York Times recently that when players use the cap in practice, the number of concussions went down more than 50 percent.
Josh Whyle of the Tennessee Titans wore a Guardian Cap during Week 1 against the Chicago Bears. While Owusu-Koramoah didn't wear one in the Browns' season-opening loss to the Dallas Cowboys, he acknowledged an event that occurred during the opener opened the door for him to choose to wear it.
"Yeah, Week 1 I had one hit," Owusu-Koramoah said. "Then I kind of felt it a little bit, so I'm like, man, lemme try this Guardian Cap and see what he's talking about. But it was good though."
The conversation has again ratcheted up about head injuries in the NFL, both specific to the Browns and NFL-wide. Cleveland cornerback Denzel Ward sustained the fifth documented concussion of his seven-year NFL career when the Nordonia High School and Ohio State product's head hit the ground during training camp, even though he was wearing a Guardian Cap at the time.
Nationally, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered another frightening concussion during a nationally-televised game last Thursday when he was tackled by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. He had previously sustained a similarly serious one two seasons ago during a Thursday Night Football game at the Cincinnati Bengals.
"Well, nah," Owusu-Koramoah said when asked if Tagovailoa's latest head injury led him to wear the Guardian Cap. "I mean, I actually like wearing it in practice. So I was just like, I'm going check it out, see what it is."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What is a Guardian Cap? Browns LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah wore one in win over Jaguars
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