Concussions Dropped More Than 50 Percent for Players Who Wore Guardian Caps, NFL Says

The NFL has revealed that concussions dropped significantly among players who wore the league-mandated Guardian Caps during training camp this summer compared to the previous three years.

Citing data provided by the NFL, ESPN's Kevin Seifert noted concussions decreased by more than 50 percent among the four position groups—offensive line, defensive line, tight ends and linebackers—required to wear the protective equipment from the start of camp to the second preseason game.

"There were 11 concussions among those position groups during that time," wrote Seifert. "Six of those were caused by contact to the face mask, which is not protected by a Guardian Cap. The previous three-year average for players at those positions during that time period was 23 concussions."

The NFL announced in March it was mandating use of the specially designed cap covers to help protect players against concussions and head injuries during the initial portion of training camp and preseason.

Talking to NFL Network's Judy Battista in July, NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills explained the importance of implementing the additional protective measures for players:

"We've committed to try reduce head impacts across the league, and that means reducing how many head impacts are occurring but also reducing the impact when they do occur. We know that there's always going to be some head impacts, players hit the ground or inadvertently hit each other, so what we're really aiming to do here is to reduce that force that's transmitted through the helmet to the player's brain, which is ultimately going to result in a higher degree of safety for the player."

Sills noted the caps were shown to reduce the force of head impacts by 10 percent when one player wore it and up to 20 percent when both players involved in a collision were wearing it.

Even though players were allowed to stop wearing the Guardian Cap after their team's second preseason game, Seifert noted around 200 players continued to use it.

According to the NFL's official injury data published in February, the previous two seasons have seen fewer than 200 diagnosed concussions. From 2015-19, the fewest number of recorded concussions in a single season was 214 (2018).

Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, told Seifert the league will continue to go over feedback from players before making a decision about continuing to use the caps in 2023 and beyond.