The game of football as we presently know it, could be changing right before our eyes. The safety chairman of the NFL says that players may not need to wear helmets in the future!
This is probably one of the most strange statements that the NFL has made in recent years. Aside from changing many game rules, the NFL is looking to make the league a safer environment for players and reduce the number of injuries that are received. The safety chairman suggests that sometime in the future, players may not need to wear helmets.
Imagine a 300 pound linebacker sacking your QB at full power. That sounds scary as hell! Now couple that sack with the QB not having a helmet on. The face you probably just made, yup, I agree with it.
As scary as that may sound, the league believes taking away helmets would help discourage players from hitting opponents so hard. It is no secret that the NFL is notorious for players receiving concussions and many players often experience issues with their brains later down line in life. Whether it be speech issues or functions of the body not working properly due to their brains being rattled so much while they were in the league, it is becoming more and more common.
However, the league will have to continue their research of trauma with head injuries and concussions before a ruling is made that helmets are not necessary. Personally, this sounds like a terrible idea to me. Again, I cannot imagine being a QB with no helmet and then getting sacked by a huge linebacker. What happens when the head snaps back and bounces off of the ground?
It sounds like the league has a lot of kinks to work out with the statement concerning helmets so, I would not bet on the change being made any time soon.
Source: BBC Sports
