GREEN BAY, Wis. — Randall Cobb said it made him feel like a bobblehead doll. Jon Runyan was reminded of Toad, the popular Mario character. Aaron Jones thought it looked like someone built a miniature igloo and plopped it on his helmet.
“I just think it’s stupid,” linebacker De’Vondre Campbell said.
The fashion fad not exactly warming hearts of Green Bay Packers players in the early days of training camp is the NFL’s newest idea for concussion prevention. Guardian Caps, a soft pad that straps over the outside of helmets to serve as an airbag, are about the least aesthetically pleasing design since the Cleveland Browns decided orange and brown worked together as a uniform concept. That’s not why players are scratching their heads over the league’s latest safety equipment.
Their complaint is a mix of bewilderment and concern. In 2022, nobody inside an NFL locker room needs to be educated on the dangers of concussions.
“I think it’s one of those drives in the right direction,” running back AJ Dillon said of the caps.
Where players get confused is how these funky pads on helmets make a meaningful difference.
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The NFL, citing the caps’ engineering, expects concussions to decrease 10% in a head-to-head collision if one player is wearing the cap. It believes concussions will decrease 20% if both players are wearing them. Of course, nobody is tackling in the early days of camp practice, when the caps will be worn.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” Cobb said, “especially for receivers and DBs to wear them. Especially in practice. We never hit. If I get hit in practice, we’ve got bigger issues. Because that means you don’t know how to practice.”
Coach Matt LaFleur required every player except quarterbacks – who are in red jerseys indicating they are not to be touched – to wear Guardian Caps on the Packers’ opening day of practice last week, wanting his team to look uniformed in what it wore. He relented a day later, allowing skill players on offense and defense to remove them. Linebackers, fullbacks and linemen will continue wearing the caps in practice through the second preseason game.
There was no surprise skill players ditched the caps as soon as they could.
“It was an adjustment,” cornerback Eric Stokes said.
The caps are cumbersome, covering the entire circumference of a players’ helmet. Though the weight doesn’t slow him down on the field, Jones said he felt the added stress on his neck after practice. Dillon said he noticed the pad during reps.
“It could be the placebo effect,” Dillon said, “but for me it felt a little heavier. I felt aware of it, but anything that you’re hyper focused on, you’re going to be focused on all the time.”
Jones said the padding lessens contact he feels against his head. Between plays, Jones said he and quarterback Aaron Rodgers occasionally head butt each other, a common celebration for players. With the caps, Jones felt no contact with his head. The question is how beneficial they’ll be protecting against head-to-head collisions in games.
If the caps significantly lessen the impact of head collisions, a concern is it might give players a false sense of security during plays. LaFleur, who has discussed the caps with fellow coaches across the league, said the caps require his assistants to be more vigilant instructing proper fundamentals.
“The thing I guess I somewhat worry about,” LaFleur said, “is when you do have that cushion on your helmet, and we’re making a huge emphasis with our coaches about this, is I don’t want the guys to feel the confidence that they can now use their head. So that’s one of the, I guess, things that are not so great about it, is you can get a false confidence, and now your technique suffers. I definitely don’t want to see us go that way.”
In a trial phase, the NFL has shown no indication Guardian Caps will be required in games.
“I think that would be a tough sell,” center Josh Myers said.
Still, requiring caps to be worn only in practice might be the most confusing factor for players.
The intent of practice is to prepare for games. In the past, the rigors of camp have been an important acclimation period for players’ bodies to brace against contact they’ll experience in live tackling. Now, players worry the effects of hard contact will be more damaging.
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“You can’t wear it in a game,” Campbell said, “so what’s the point of putting it on in practice? Then when you get in a game, you have to take it off. People are going to get so used to hitting with them that when you take it off, when you’re actually making that contact, I just feel like based off of science you’re putting yourself more at risk from that standpoint.”
“Once you take them off,” Jones said, “it will feel like a car crash.”
A universal rule requiring players to wear the caps in games would remove that concern. Not one of 10 players asked said they would prefer that rule.
“Bad idea,” Jones said. It wouldn’t be the first time players in a major sports league underwent a significant transition with safety equipment.
In baseball, C-flap helmets protecting a batter’s face have become more popular in the past five years. Base runners now steal bags with an oven mitt covering their fingers. In football, many modifications have been made to helmets with the intent of protecting players’ brains. The latest models are only a couple years old.
“If the helmet is not safe,” cornerback Rasul Douglas said, “then why are we even in that helmet? They said the helmet is the best helmet, that’s the safest helmet. So why do we need safety on top of that helmet?”
If nothing else, Guardian Caps provide the NFL another piece of PR in its ongoing attempt to make the game safer from concussions, another sign the league is willing to get creative with its equipment. When asked about the caps, LaFleur quipped his public relations official had a list of things he was supposed to say.
Even with his concern about continuing to emphasize proper technique, preventing the helmet from being weaponized, LaFleur said he would support Guardian Caps being worn in games.
“It truly is about player safety,” LaFleur said, “and you’re talking about your brain. I mean, that’s pretty important. So, yeah, I’d be all in favor of whatever helps our guys live a long, healthy life.”
