With Guardian Caps being legal to wear in-game for the first time this season, Pittsburgh Steelers OG James Daniels has worn one in every game dating back to the preseason. In Week 1, Daniels was one of just five players to wear a guardian cap, along with Indianapolis Colts TE Kylen Granson, Colts S Rodney Thomas, Tennessee Titans TE Josh Whyle and New England Patriots S Jabril Peppers, per Austin Gayle of The Ringer.
A Guardian Cap is a soft-shell helmet intended to reduce head trauma and ideally reduce concussions, although the main intent is to reduce the trauma involved with repeated minor blows to a head that NFL players endure on a weekly basis. With Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa suffering the third official concussion of his NFL career on Thursday night in brutal fashion, it’s worth wondering whether the number of players who wear Guardian Caps will rise in the coming weeks.
The most notable player to wear one this season was Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, who donned it during the preseason, but didn’t during Week 1. Daniels continued to wear it, and he told KDKA that he doesn’t care how it looks, and that studies have proven that Guardian Caps are effective in preventing head trauma.
“I’m the only person on this team wearing it,” Daniels said. “For me, it really doesn’t matter. People don’t care. As long as you’re out there blocking, it doesn’t matter what you wear. That’s all I care about.”
Daniels also said that he thinks everyone should be wearing them, but Week 1 wasn’t a good sign that they’ll be embraced league-wide. Despite the NFL mandating the use in training camp for some position groups and the Steelers using them during training camp, Daniels is the only player on the team wearing them in-game, with most of the NFL choosing to not to do.
With concussions a continual problem across the league, it makes you wonder why more players don’t wear them, although the look and potential issues with heat could be a reason why players haven’t caught onto the idea yet. The NFL has also introduced six helmets that they’ve deemed to be safer than the Guardian Caps, so players may opt to wear those instead for a cleaner look and further protection.
We’ll see if the number of players wearing Guardian Caps rises after Tagovailoa’s injury, but I wouldn’t expect to see any sort of big increase. It may take a while, or for the NFL to mandate the use of Guardian Caps or helmets designed to limit concussions for them to be widely-used around the league.
