NFL position-specific helmet options will more than double for players during 2024 season

The NFL has seen many changes over the last few years, and many have given the players more freedom of choice, from more jersey numbers to choose from to more available helmets. Their choices for headgear just increased even more, as the options for 2024 will double for position-specific helmets.

The news was revealed by the annual helmet safety rankings, released by the NFL and NFL Players Association on Tuesday.

Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy, noted the significance of the increase and how this benefits the players.

“It’s a fantastic pace of innovation,” Miller said (via ESPN). “The players in those position groups will have a lot of options that they haven’t had before.”

Of the top 12 ranked helmets, eight are designed for quarterbacks or offensive/defensive linemen. There are new manufacturers, including Ridell, which ranks No. 1 with their Axiom 3D model.

The NFL was pushing for more variety for helmets. In 2022, the NFL and NFLPA approved the first position-specific helmets for linemen. In 2023, they approved the first position-specific helmet for quarterbacks to go along with two options for linemen.

Nine quarterbacks wore the helmets, something Miller calls a “good start,” but added that it was a “a little more modest than we would have liked” in terms of the 20 lineman wearing the models. Miller is looking to increase those figures as more options become available. 

“As more manufacturers are building those helmets for linemen, I think that there’s an opportunity to grow those numbers,” he said. 

Each position has a different area to target when it comes to helmet safety, with some positions taking more hits than others. The lineman helmet give extra protection in the front to “account for sub-concussive contact” after the snap, said Dr. Annie Bailey Good, a senior mechanical engineer at Biocore, the…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-position-specific-helmet-options-will-more-than-double-for-players-during-2024-season/

Author : Shanna McCarriston

Publish date : 2024-04-09 18:32:51

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