First position-specific helmet ranks No. 2 in NFL lab testing
Helmet maker Vicis introduced the first position-specific helmet and the NFL announced on Tuesday that it has performed well in its first round of laboratory testing.
The Vicis Zero2-R Trench helmet is designed for offensive and defensive linemen and it ranked second among all 41 helmet models tested by the league. Another new Vicis model, the Zero2-R Matrix, ranked first and a third, the Zero2-R, rounded out the top three.
“Players have more and better choices than ever before. Continued improvement in helmet design has raised the bar for top performing helmet models,” NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Miller said in a statement. “The introduction of the first position-specific helmet is a promising development within the helmet industry to further customize helmets for the unique safety requirements of each position. The NFL and NFLPA have long supported critical innovation in helmet design through our research and innovation challenges and by providing necessary data to manufacturers, and we’re excited for that effort to yield tangible results.”
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NFL, players' association approve first position-specific helmet design for OL, DL
The NFL and NFL Players Association have approved a position-specific helmet design for the first time since they began regulating equipment for players, representatives for both groups confirmed Tuesday.
The helmet, known as the VICIS ZERO2-R TRENCH, was built for offensive and defensive linemen and is ranked No. 2 on the league's 2021 safety rankings. The helmets are equipped with bumpers on their front and upper sides, where NFL engineering studies showed are a common point of contact for linemen who absorb concussion-causing contact, according to Dr. Ann Good, a senior engineer at BioCore and a consultant to the NFL.
The league and union have been ranking helmets based on proprietary safety data since 2015, using lab tests designed by BioCore, and began banning the lowest-performing helmets in 2019. The primary goal was to drive down reported concussion totals among players, which peaked at 281 during the 2017 season. The 2021 ratings, distributed to teams Tuesday, added three models to the prohibited list and six to a category called "not recommended."
Approximately 18% of players finished the 2020 season using one of those nine helmet models. But Dr. Kristy Arbogast, an engineering consultant for the NFLPA, said her expectation is that almost all of them will move to a better-performing helmet in 2021. In each of the past two seasons, 99% of NFL players have used a helmet recommended by the NFL/NFLPA ratings.
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