Cleveland Browns guard Blake Hance wears a Guardian Cap during training camp. Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

NFL says Guardian Caps reduced concussions by over 50%

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 9/14/22

Those puffy helmets that look like oversized dog toys may look funny, but they're supposedly helping prevent major head injuries.

In a conference call this week, NFL executive Jeff Miller told the media that the Guardian Caps certain position players were required to wear in the preseason helped cut down instances of concussion by roughly 50 percent.

NFL exec Jeff Miller, on a conference call, says the early data for the guardian caps worn during camp was promising. Through week 2 of preseason games, concussions were cut in half (23 to 11) for those positions affected -- mandated to wear caps. Some good news.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 14, 2022

Offensive linemen, defensive linemen, tight ends, and linebackers were all required to wear Guardian Caps during practice between the start of training camp and the second preseason game -- a period of time that typically sees a lot of concussions occur, ESPN reported.

Miller said the results from the recent preseason experiment went better than planned.

NFL's Jeff Miller: "The benefits of the Guardian Cap exceeded our expectations so far." Concussions suffered by players in position groups wearing the caps decreased from 23 to 11, year over year.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) September 14, 2022

The NFL still has to work with the Players Association, coaches and equipment managers to get more feedback, so a date for when the league might try to implement Guardian Caps during the regular season has not been determined. For the time being, however, the results are promising.

"We want to work our way through those comments before we're ready to make a commitment for next season," Miller said, via ESPN. "We're really pleased with how it went and optimistic that a device like this will improve the health and safety of our athletes. But what exactly that looks like, I think we need a little bit of time and a fair number of conversations before we get to that point."

More must-reads: