WESTFIELD, Ind. — Safety is a top priority for the National Football League. If you go to Indianapolis Colts training camp, you may notice strange looking padded shells on player helmets.
That’s a new piece of tech the NFL is testing, called Guardian Caps.
“So it’s a padded shell that goes over the outside shell of the helmet,” says Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s Chief Medical Officer, “so think of it as an extra layer of padding that fits outside the helmet.”
Dr. Sills tells WIBC’s Terri Stacy that the Guardian Caps are used by several NFL teams, plus several college and high school football programs. It’s a special piece of equipment with the brain in mind.
Dr. Sills says, “what it does is it absorbs force when the helmet is struck from any direction. Whenever someone is wearing the cap, any blow to the helmet the force is reduced by at least 10-percent or so. If two players are wearing it, you’ve got an additive effect, so you’ve got an over 20-percent reduction in force.”
He says the focus right now is on offensive and defensive lineman, tight ends and linebackers – those are the players that may find themselves taking more hits than others. Dr. Sills says it’s all about protecting players and protecting the game of football, on every level.
You can hear the full interview with Dr. Allen Sills this Sunday on the First Day with Terri Stacy on 93 WIBC.
