You might have noticed your favorite NFL player looking slightly different at training camp over the last several seasons.
Guardian Caps, helmet coverings designed to add extra protection against head injuries, have become common in NFL summer practice sessions.
What’s the future of Guardian Caps? Are NFL players required to wear them in training camp? Has any player worn one in a regular-season game? Let’s explore these questions and take a closer look at the NFL’s newest safety tool.
NFL Guardian Cap FAQ: Explaining Football’s New Helmet
What Are Guardian Caps?
Guardian Caps are soft-shell helmet covers designed to help reduce concussions. Invented in 2010, they are engineered to lessen the impact of head-to-head collisions.
Are Guardian Caps Mandatory?
Yes and no.
The NFL introduced Guardian Caps during the 2022 training camps. By 2023, the league required players in positions with the most head contact — running backs, linemen, and linebackers — to wear the extra padding in camp.
In 2024, the rule expanded, mandating all positions except quarterbacks and specialists to use Guardian Caps in training camp. Players using one of six new helmet models approved by the league and NFLPA were exempt.
The NFL also approved Guardian Caps for in-game use in 2024, marking a major reversal from 2023 when their use during games was prohibited.
“We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions among players who wear Guardian Caps during practice, so players will be permitted to wear the cap during games this upcoming season,” NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said in a statement.
“Additionally, there are new helmets this year that provide as much — if not more — protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap. These developments represent substantial progress in our efforts to make the game safer for players.”
Will NFL Players Wear Guardian Caps in Games?
Tight ends Josh Whyle and Kylen Granson were the first players to wear a Guardian Cap in a regular-season NFL game. Whyle, who has suffered multiple concussions, cited his injury history as a key reason for choosing to wear the cap.
“I can’t mess around anymore,” Whyle told ESPN. “I want to stay healthy and if this is what it takes, then I’m all for it.”
Granson explained that the decision was a “no-brainer.”
“At one point, people thought seatbelts were f—ing stupid,” Granson told The Athletic. “Why wouldn’t I (wear it)? Just because it looks silly? I feel like health and safety is more important than aesthetics. … I don’t want anyone to dig me up after I’m gone and check my brain.”
In an Instagram post, Granson elaborated on his decision to wear the Guardian Cap, saying that he wants to be able to remember the first dance from his wedding “30 years from now.”
“There’s no amount of aesthetic that could outweigh what a TBI (traumatic brain injury) could do to you,” Granson posted on Instagram. “And one of the more unknown things is that not only is it the big hits that you have to worry about, it’s the culmination of a bunch of little hits.
“I want to inspire kids to think that health and safety is also cool. You can do cool things out on the football field and still wear a Guardian Cap. I want my (future) children to wear helmets when they ride a bike. … Because there’s no amount of cool that would be worth walking into a hospital room and your child’s in a vegetative state because they weren’t wearing a helmet. Because they didn’t want to look dumb.”
Granson was one of six players to wear a Guardian Cap during the preseason, joining James Daniels, Rodney Thomas II, Grant Stuard, Zavier Scott and Jonathan Taylor.
In 2022, Daniels kept wearing his Guardian Cap even after the portion of camp when they were mandated.
“I think they help,” Daniels said this week. “The NFLPA is doing a lot — just how training camp is set up, all the new rules, lowering the head, all that stuff with the new kickoff. I feel like they’re trying to make the game safer, so if they’re giving us an opportunity to make the game safer, I feel like it’d be kind of like spitting in their face not to use it.”
However, Granson, Whyle, and Co. seem to be in the minority among NFL players. Pro Football Network’s Adam Beasley recently asked six Miami Dolphins players whether they’d wear a Guardian Cap in a game — and none were open to the idea.
“No way,” said Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks. “It’s like an extra 10 pounds on your head, makes it a lot hotter, heavier. No, I wouldn’t do it.”
Brooks then quipped: “They call them UFO caps.”
Count Pittsburgh Steelers’ cornerback Darius Slay among the anti-Guardian Cap crowd, too.
“Oh, I can’t stand them. It impacts my swag,” Slay told Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports this week. “My game is part of my swag. If I ain’t looking the part, I can’t feel the part. They have me looking very ugly out there with that big ol’ cap on the head.”
Do Guardian Caps Work?
Earlier last year, Miller noted that players who wore Guardian Caps during training camp saw a 50% reduction in concussions compared to those who did not.
According to the NFL, wearing a Guardian Cap can reduce the severity of head impacts by at least 10%. If two players wearing Guardian Caps collide helmet-to-helmet, the impact force is reduced by at least 20%.