what are the helmet covers in the nfl

Those soft-looking helmet covers you’re seeing in the NFL are called Guardian Caps , and they’re an added layer of padded protection worn over a regular helmet to help reduce head-impact force and concussion risk.

What the helmet covers are

• Guardian Caps are soft-shell, foam-based coverings that strap onto the outside of a standard NFL helmet.

• They’re designed to absorb and disperse part of the impact when players collide, especially in frequent contact situations like line play.

Why the NFL is using them

• NFL and manufacturer testing suggests Guardian Caps can reduce impact force by roughly 10% when one player wears one, and 20% or more when both players in a collision are wearing them.

• League data cited by NFL executive Jeff Miller indicates about a 50% reduction in concussions for position groups that were required to wear the caps in recent seasons, which helped drive wider adoption.

When players wear these covers

• They first showed up as a requirement for certain high-contact positions (linemen, tight ends, linebackers) during training camp practices and later during in-season contact practices.

• As of the mid‑2020s, the NFL has expanded their use and now even allows players to wear Guardian Caps during regular-season games on an optional basis, with some players choosing them for extra protection.

Why they look different on TV

• The caps themselves are usually a plain, padded shell (often white or a solid color), so teams sometimes add a fabric cover or printed shell over the Guardian Cap to show logos and colors more like a standard helmet.

• That’s why you might see what looks like a “helmet cover over a helmet”: the hard-shell helmet, then the foam Guardian Cap, and then a team-branded wrap on top in some cases.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.