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James Daniels First Steeler to Wear Guardian Cap During a Game
Pittsburgh Steelers right guard James Daniels wore a Guardian Cap during the Steelers-Texans preseason game on Friday night at Acrisure Stadium. It had a gold helmet stripe and a Steelers logo, just like the team’s helmet. This is the first year that NFL players are allowed to wear Guardian Caps during a game.
James Daniels is the first Steeler to wear a guardian cap during a game. It’s also believed that he’s the first player in the entire league to wear the cap during a game.
The guardian cap is a shell helmet cover engineered for impact reduction. It brings a padded, soft-shell layer to the outside of the decades old hard-shell helmet and reduces impact up to 33%.
The caps also help protect players from other helmet-related injuries such as broken hands and fingers. Many of the players complain about the bulky look of the helmets, and just general discomfort. At the same time, a lot of players are appreciative of the concept of the caps, as the goal is to limit concussions and injuries.
#Steelers RG James Daniels is wearing a guardian cap for today’s game.
It has a helmet stripe and a logo. pic.twitter.com/AXqAPVgiVU
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) August 9, 2024
In 2023, the NFL expanded its guardian cap program, after seeing a stark reduction in the number of preseason concussions in 2022. The wear of the guardian caps were extended to continue throughout the entire preseason and for any full-contact in-season practices.
In 2022, offensive and defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackers wore the protective helmet covers during the first few weeks of training camp, when most teams are holding their full contact practices.
During that period, those position groups saw a 52% reduction in reported concussions, compared to a three-year average, NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller said Tuesday at the NFL Annual Meeting.
While Daniels donned the guardian cap against Houston, tight end Pat Freiermuth doesn’t plan on wearing one anytime soon, even through he has a history of concussions.
“No, no, no,” Freiermuth said on Tuesday when asked if he would wear a guardian cap in-game. “It is what it is. I don’t know, but I will not be wearing those things in any type of game.”
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