It’s a warm Thursday night in Miami. The Buffalo Bills are in town to face the Miami Dolphins in a crucial divisional matchup. Late in the third quarter, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa takes off from the pocket attempting to get a first down and takes a direct blow to the helmet. His hand immediately clenched into a fist raising it high into the air, signaling the worst case scenario for the 26 year old quarterback: a concussion. It’s the fourth one of his career.
Amongst media members in the football world, there’s an ample amount of opinions saying Tagovailoa should retire, and rightfully so. The same chatter came about after his third concussion in 2022, which was another brutal hit. Given Tagovailoa is still relatively young in the football world, the risk of continuing to play football is astronomical. Forget about his football career, we’re talking about repercussions that could occur simply living his everyday life.
Many post-career NFL players experience something called CTE, which stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Symptoms include memory loss and depression. Former league standouts Junior Seau and Dave Duerson suffered from this disease, and are tragically no longer with us. Former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon battled through symptoms but luckily was able to get cell therapy for his brain which has helped.
The National Football League took a step in the right direction when they implemented optional Guardian Caps, which are extra soft padding surrounding the entire football helmet. Guardian Sports says wearing the cap reduces the severity of impact by 10%. If two players are wearing the cap it is reduced by 20%.
If Tagovailoa wants to keep playing football then that’s his decision. He should at least be doing it wearing a guardian cap.
The caps are mandatory in training camp for positions that experience the most contact on the field, which include running backs, lineman and linebackers. A few players choose to wear the Guardian Cap in regular season games like Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Colts running back Jonathan Taylor, Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers, and Steelers guard James Daniels.
Other players should consider wearing the cap. It’s not the most stylish attire in a day and age where looking cool seems more important than safety. However, wearing it could prevent serious head injuries with potential repercussions down the road.
The Guardian Cap is still a young and ascending accessory in the football world, but if we get to a day and age where everyone is wearing it, concussion rates in the National Football League could take a tremendous spike downward.
