The NFL and NFL Players Association has 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, was built for offensive and defensive lineouts and is ranked No. 2 on the league’s safety rankings in 2021. According to Hel Ann, a senior engineer at BioCore and a helmet consultant , there are bumpers on their front and top, with engineering studies being a common point of contact by NFL engineering. NFL.
The league and union have been arranging helmets based on their own safety data since 2015, using laboratory tests designed by BioCore and have started banning the lowest performing helmets in 2019. The primary goal was to lower the reported concussion totals among players, which peaked at 281 during the 2017 season. The 2021 ratings, which were distributed to teams on Tuesday, added three models to the banned list and six in a category called ‘not recommended’.
About 18% of players have completed the 2020 season using one of the nine helmet models. But Dr Kristy Arbogast, an engineering consultant for the NFLPA, said her expectation is that almost everyone will move to a better-performing helmet by 2021. In each of the past two seasons, 99% of NFL players have worn a helmet. recommended by the NFL / NFLPA ratings.
The NFL has not released its full concussion data from last season. But Jennifer Langton, the league’s senior vice president for health and safety innovation, said the reported concussion rates 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 to arrange and prohibit helmets was relevant to [players’] player experience. We have shown that through the [ranking], players can really play an active role in their safety. ‘
It remains to be seen how many linebackers will switch to the model built for them this season, but this is the first step in the NFL’s goal of encouraging manufacturers to produce models for each position group. Dr. Jeff Crandall, chairman of the NFL Engineering Committee and co-founder of BioCore, said a “basic test” had been done on models designed for quarterbacks. A model is likely to be finalized for future seasons, possibly in 2022, once an analysis of the new technology is accepted that the NFL accepts for bus-to-quarter communication.