NFL to Offer Players 12 New Helmets for 2024 Season; QBs Will Have 2 Options

NFL players will have no shortage of helmet choices for the 2024 season.

Judy Battista of NFL.com reported Tuesday there will be 12 new helmets in play during the upcoming campaign, including eight position-specific ones for quarterbacks, offensive linemen and defensive linemen.

The NFL and NFL Players Association conducted helmet testing and five that were tested performed better than any helmet previously worn in the league. What's more, six performed so well that those who wear them will not have to wear Guardian Caps during practices:

Quarterbacks can choose between two helmets that were designed to minimize the impact of the blows to the back of their heads they suffer when falling to the ground. Linemen will also have choices between helmets that are designed to minimize blows to the forehead and front of the helmet.

Battista noted the league hopes to have enough information by 2025 for position-specific helmets for wide receivers and defensive backs.

Still, just nine quarterbacks and 20 linemen wore the position-specific helmets last season.

"Obviously we want to increase those numbers because these helmets perform so well in the lab testing," Jeff Miller, the NFL's executive vice president of communications public affairs and policy, said.

"And there are enough different models now and manufacturers making those models that hopefully players will be able to find one they really like, that fit them well so that they wear them throughout the season. That's going to be a big point of emphasis with the coaches, athletic trainers, players this offseason to get them into some of the newer, better-performing helmets."

Battista suggested the ability to avoid wearing the Guardian Caps, which fit over the helmet to further absorb blows, during practice could be an incentive that convinces more players to wear the higher-performing helmets.

In February, Tashan Reed of The Athletic reported the number of concussions suffered during preseason, practices and regular-season games increased from 213 in 2022 to 219 in 2023 even though fewer overall injuries forced players to miss games.

Reed noted the league is focused on the issues of cutting down on head impacts among linemen and reducing "high-risk, high-velocity" head impacts on plays.

The position-specific helmets are a step in that direction, as is the new hybrid kickoff model that will be in place this season. Players will line up closer together with less of a running start before impacts on those kickoffs, which should, in theory, reduce the number of concussion-causing impacts.