(CNN) The NFL and the league’s gamers union have introduced a newly designed helmet particularly for linebackers to put on in an effort to scale back the severity of hits that may trigger concussions.
The NFL Gamers Affiliation (NFLPA) and the league stated Thursday that the initiative to develop safer headgear for sign callers relies on the statistic that “half of all QB concussions happen when their helmets hit the bottom.”
The press launch states that testing of the VICIS ZERO2 MATRIX QB helmet, which is out there subsequent season however not required to be worn, “carried out 7% higher than the preferred helmet worn by quarterbacks final season.”
The announcement follows final season’s high-profile accidents to Dolphins linebacker Tua Tagovailoa.
On two separate events, the 25-year-old fell backwards and hit his head on the grass. Tagovailoa instructed reporters in October that he was knocked unconscious throughout the Sept. 29 sport and didn’t keep in mind what occurred instantly after his head hit the bottom.
Thursday’s joint assertion reads: “Place-specific helmet designs bear in mind distinctive head impression places and velocities for every place group to supply gamers extra tailor-made safety.”
New, safer helmets for the defensive and offensive strains had been launched in 2021.
Total, NFL gamers suffered 149 concussions in video games this season, an 18% enhance from 2021, the NFL stated in February. That whole can be 14% larger than the three-year common between 2018 and 2020 (130).
The league’s chief medical officer attributed the uptick partially to a protocol change that he stated “expanded and strengthened” the definition of a concussion after Tagovailoa’s accidents early within the season.
