Ryan Bautista | News Editor
September 20, 2024
Just two weeks into the 2024 NFL season, superstars Christian McCaffrey and Tua Tagovailoa have joined the long list of players on injured reserve, unable to play for at least four games. To combat these and other crippling injuries, the NFL has implemented new rules and equipment, but so far their effects have not been felt.
One of the types of injuries football is known for is concussions, with their potentially life-changing consequences. And they have stopped being rare. Take Tagovailoa’s situation, where he’s suffered three concussions in the last three seasons. Coaches and analysts are calling for him to permanently retire, citing how risky it was for him to be still playing when his brain could become damaged for the rest of his life. Sophomore Stephen Fitzpatrick also expresses concern for Tagovailoa, saying how after “that many concussions…he should call its quits.”
The NFL does have a solution for this. Guardian caps, a soft-shell pad around players’ helmets, have been implemented in pre-season games and practices. These pads help stop the hard contact that often leads to concussions, and they have lowered concussions in these pre-season activities.
However, only six players have worn the guardian cap this year. That is six out of over 2,000 players.
And that small group is not going to help the overall injuries of the NFL. They also include no cornerbacks, which is the most susceptible position to concussions.
To go along with this and other new types of technology, the NFL has also changed some of its rules to help prevent injuries, none of which is as obvious as the new kickoff. In the old kickoff, players would ram into each other at high speeds trying to get downfield quickly, which led to a large number of injuries including concussions and other major consequences. This season, the players start only five yards apart and closer to where the ball must be kicked, helping reduce these collisions and having the added plus of causing more returns instead of touchbacks. Unfortunately, many fans are not happy with this particular rule change. Sophomore Evan Juvinall calls it “unnecessary”, and also cites how “onside kicks” will now have to be “clearly announced, taking out the real advantage of the play.”
The NFL has also changed its roughing-the-passer rules to protect arguably the most important person on the field, the quarterback. Defensive players can no longer hit the quarterback in the helmet or with their helmet, hit their arm, or tackle them below the knee. These quarterbacks are some of the stars of the NFL, and the league wants them to keep making football exciting. They can not do that if they are on the sideline recovering for half the season.
Even with all these rule changes, players still get hurt. From last year’s example of Aaron Rodgers getting hurt on his fourth snap, to Christian McCaffrey making fantasy team managers cry by sitting out, these injuries can be game-changing for these athletes and their fans. While these injuries are unfortunate, the NFL has to also realize that they are a part of the game. They can not just wrap their players in bubble wrap and send them onto the field, this is a professional sport where athletes of the highest caliber compete to beat one another. Juvinall says football players are just “prone to injuries,” going to his firsthand accounts of being on the high school football team, and the NFL should not go to “extreme actions” in protecting its players. Some people will unfortunately be caught in the crossfire, what matters is reducing their numbers and helping them keep doing what they love.
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