The NFL and NFL Players Association have approved a position-specific helmet design for the first time since they began regulating equipment for players, representatives from both groups confirmed Tuesday.
The helmet, known as the VICIS ZERO2-R TRENCH, is built for offensive and defensive linemen and is # 2 in the competition’s 2021 safety rankings. The helmets are equipped with front and top bumpers, where NFL engineering studies have shown them to be a common point of contact for linemen absorbing concussion-inducing contact, said Dr. Ann Good, a senior engineer at BioCore and an adviser to the NFL.
The league and union have been ranking helmets based on patented safety data since 2015, using lab tests designed by BioCore, and began banning the worst performing helmets in 2019. 281 during the 2017 season. The 2021 ratings, distributed to teams on Tuesday, added three models to the banned list and six to a category called “not recommended”.
About 18% of players finished the 2020 season with one of those nine helmet models. But Dr. Kristy Arbogast, a technical adviser for the NFLPA, said her expectation is that almost all of them will move to a higher-performing helmet by 2021. In each of the past two seasons, 99% of NFL players have used a helmet. recommended by the NFL / NFLPA ratings.
The NFL has not published its complete concussion data from last season. But Jennifer Langton, senior vice president of the health and safety innovation division, said reported concussions in the past three seasons (2018-20) are 25% lower than in the previous three seasons (2015-17 ).
“With these results,” said Arbogast, “we were able to demonstrate [to players] that the use of a laboratory test in the ranking of helmets and the banning of helmets was relevant [players’] game experience. We showed that by the [ranking]players can really play an active role in their safety. “
It remains to be seen how many linemen will switch to the model built for them this season, but it is the first step in the NFL’s goal of urging manufacturers to produce models for each position group. Dr. Jeff Crandall, the chairman of the NFL’s engineering committee and the co-founder of BioCore, said there have been some “baseline tests” of models designed for quarterbacks. A model is likely to be finalized for future seasons, possibly in 2022, once an analysis is made of new technology the NFL uses for coach-quarterback communication.