Late in his team’s game against the Green Bay Packers on September 15, Indianapolis Colts tight end Kylen Granson caught a short pass over the middle of the field, charged forward, and lowered his body to brace for contact. The side of his helmet smacked the face mask of linebacker Quay Walker, and the back of it whacked the ground as Walker wrestled him down. Rising to his feet after the 9-yard gain, Granson tossed the football to an official and returned to the line of scrimmage for the next snap.
Aside from it being his first reception of the 2024 National Football League season, this otherwise ordinary play was only noteworthy because of what Granson was wearing at the time of the hit: a 12-ounce, foam-padded, protective helmet covering called a Guardian Cap.
Already mandatory for most positions at all NFL preseason practices, as well as regular-season and postseason practices with contact, these soft shells received another vote of confidence this year when the league greenlit them for optional game use, citing a roughly 50 percent drop in training camp concussions since their official 2022 debut. Through six weeks of action this fall, only 10 NFL players had actually taken the field with one on, according to a league spokesperson. But the decision was easy for Granson, who tried out his gameday Guardian Cap—itself covered by a 1-ounce pinnie with the Colts logo to simulate the design of the helmet underneath—in preseason games before committing to wear it for real.
Honestly, they don’t even look that weird. Slow adoption is likely just due to the culture of machismo in sports, because the choice to wear it or not is up to each player and they all rib each other for being soft or a pussy all the fucking time.
Even getting MLB catchers to start wearing gloves was like pulling teeth back in the day.
Can you imagine trying to catch a 90 mph fast ball gloveless? Fuck machismo, I need to use my hands tomorrow
Damn, I might actually watch baseball if they went back to that.
Were they actually throwing 90mph fastballs back then? As I understand it athletes weren’t like…training to be athletes in those days. I always thought early baseball was a bunch of pudgy near-drunks who were good at throwing or hitting or catching.
Even if it wasnt going 90 mph its the balls would still be going a respectable speed regardless, reminder we are literally evolved to throw shit even a person with a shit throw is still gonna get it going with a good bit of force.
I was gonna say cricket but their keeper is actually the only one allowed to wear gloves lol
The actual logical conclusion of this will almost certainly be proper deformable helmets which gets replaced frequently during the game.
I doubt that, given that NFL players are generally expected to wear the same helmet all season (unless it’s damaged or too old). It’s no longer a rule, but it was a rule from 2013 to 2021.
A player’s helmets must be the same model under the new rules, so you couldn’t even have 1 normal helmet and 1 deformable helmet. I think that the ability to wear the Guardian Cap over top of a normal helmet is one of the main selling points for that reason.
Deformable helmets would be a great idea to try, though. I just don’t think it would be timely. Maybe in 30 years?