Why some NFL helmets may look different this season

(NEXSTAR) — NFL helmets have come a long way from the leather caps players wore in the league’s younger days. You may notice the latest advancements while watching games this season.

We saw it for the first time last weekend as preseason games kicked off. You can see Pittsburgh Steelers offensive guard James Daniels sporting it — more specifically, the extra padding on his helmet — in the photo below.

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor was also seen wearing one alongside four of his teammates: Zavier Scott, Kylen Granson, Rodney Thomas II, and Grant Stuard.

The extra padding is known as a Guardian cap. Made by Guardian , a company based in Peachtree Corner, Georgia, the cap is meant to serve as “a soft shell barrier” between the player’s head and impact.

According to NFL data, the cap will absorb at least 10% of the force during a hit to the helmet. That doubles to 20% if both players involved in the hit are using the caps.

Since 2022, the NFL has required Guardian caps, which weigh just a few ounces, to be worn by certain players during practices. During last year’s training camp, concussions reached a seven-year low, the NFL said.

You can see a Los Angeles Rams’ helmet sporting a Guardian cap below:

This year, the practice requirement spread to defensive backs and receivers, meaning only three position groups — quarterbacks, kickers, and punters — are exempt.

“We’ve got two years of data now showing significant concussion reductions in those players that wear Guardian Caps in the NFL,” Dr. Allen Sills, the league’s chief medical officer, said in a recent webinar discussion.

This is also the first season players are allowed to wear the Guardian caps during games. Unlike practice versions, which look more like cushioned waffles covering a helmet, the in-game caps will be in sleeves that are intended to match the helmet’s design.

In action, you may not even notice the difference. Here’s Daniels, center, alongside teammate Broderick Jones. Both helmets are black with a yellow stripe down the center — but you can see the extra padding on Daniels’ helmet.

Daniels appears to be the first player to wear the Guardian cap during a game.

It may not be a surprise: as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, Daniels caught everyone’s attention in 2022 when he continued to wear the Guardian cap at training camp even after the NFL no longer required it.

When asked about likely being the first NFL player to wear his Guardian cap in-game earlier this month, Daniels told the Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko, “My head doesn’t hurt, so that’s good.”

“Hopefully more and more people start wearing them,” Daniels added.

Taylor, however, has not committed to continue using the cap in-game, the Indianapolis Star reports .

You may notice some NFL players wearing another accessory intended to protect their brain during head impacts: the Q-Collar .

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.”

Still, you can expect to see some NFL players wearing them this season. That includes Tennessee Titans’ Tony Pollard, Kansas City Chiefs’ Drue Tranquill, and Baltimore Ravens’ Charlie Kolar — the latter seen in the gallery below wearing a Q-Collar and a Guardian cap.

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 the collars cannot prevent concussions or serious head injuries.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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