This September the NFL season will kick off, promising to hold a lot of surprises and exciting developments. Beyond rookie players and everlasting dynasties clashing, the most important development lies in the implementation of Guardian Caps.

On April 26 the NFL ruled that players would be allowed to wear Guardian Caps in on-field action. The goal of the decision is to lessen the number of head injuries sustained in games. Starting off in 2022, the Guardian Caps were implemented into offseason training camp and practices, and this year in 2024 were mandatory for all players to wear with the exception of Quarterbacks, Kickers and Punters. These past two years have served to give an exorbitant amount of da

ta to back up the increased safety of the caps leading to the ruling, with a shown 50% decrease in concussions among practice groups who wore the caps.

To the specific, Guardian Caps are an insulated covers that serve as an outer shell to a helmet, further separating one’s head from another. The caps, which are made by the company Guardian are made of a closed cell foam to block liquids from weighing it down and then surrounded by a spandex fabric. The caps absorb approximately 10% of the blow of a hit by someone wearing a normal helmet, and if the initiator is also wearing a Guardian Cap, the cap absorbs 20%. In practice they are just a soft shell with no logo covering, however, for games, teams will put a covering of the teams helmet overtop to make the caps look similar to the classic helmets.

With the ruling made in April, many fans put it aside and didn’t think much of it at the time, however, with the kick off the NFL preseason this month, ma

ny fans started to notice some bleak but evident differences. On Friday August 9, the Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off their preseason action against the Houston Texans. In the game, Steeler guard James Daniels was seen wearing a Guardian Cap. This was the first time in a preseason or regular season game a player wore won of the caps. In an interview after the game when asked about being the first player to wear the cap, Daniels told Post-Gazette Brian Batko “My head doesn’t hurt, so that’s good.” In addition to Daniels, Indianapolis Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor was wearing a Guardian Cap in preseason opener versus the Denver Broncos on August 11.  The hats serve as an indication to the positive direction of the NFL and the focus on player health and safety going forward.