While watching season-ending injuries on live TV, many are beginning to ask how players can keep up with taking hits week after week. As football players grow bigger and stronger, is the NFL becoming too dangerous for players?
Injuries in football became a point of serious debate as a result of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsing after taking a hit from Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins at a Jan. 2 game. Hamlin suffered from commotio cordis, a rare form of cardiac arrest, according to NPR. Concerns continued when Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb tore his anterior cruciate ligament and had to be carted off the field after he was left unconscious.
Despite these injuries, football is not becoming too dangerous due to the NFL mandating helmet pads at practices and making changes to rules in order to make hard tackles less dangerous to players.
The NFL mandated new helmet pads called Guardian Caps, which add a soft-shell layer to typical hard-shell helmets. According to The Guardian, these new caps reduce impact by up to 33%. Along with protecting the players’ heads, Guardian Caps also preserve the material of the helmet and reduce radiant heat up to 20 degrees, keeping players cool.
The caps are made with technology similar to NASCAR helmets with soft bumpers and airbags. In 2022, the NFL started mandating the caps for certain positions during training camps. This year, the NFL began requiring the caps for any practice session that includes contact, but it has not made any regulation changes regarding caps being used during games.
According to Sacramento-based TV station KCRA, the NFL has changed over 50 rules since 2002 to make the game safer. The league has been adding new rules to regulate how players tackle each other. For example, players are not allowed to lower their head while making a tackle to prevent them from using their helmet to make contact. If they don’t abide by this rule, they can receive a penalty for targeting, be ejected from the game or even be fined, according to the NFL.
On top of that, players can’t needlessly tackle quarterbacks or receivers, reducing the amount of unnecessary tackles. The league has also added rules requiring players to wear highly technical helmets and paddings during practices and games. This equipment is special because it monitors movement and speed, gathering data that can be used to improve the gear.
With the addition of these new rules, including limited contact at practices, one could make the argument that it’s easy for players to make poor tackles, which result in injuries during games. This is because it’s harder for players to know how to make legal tackles due to less exposure to the technique during practices. However, with the new rules, tackling is much more straightforward, making it easier and safer with the banning of helmet contact.
The direction the NFL is taking football with all of the new rules and equipment make the sport safer, not more dangerous. Because of how football dominates sports culture in the U.S., the injuries definitely need to be tidied up to stop some of the nation’s best athletes from ending their seasons early.
