The helmets at an NFL contact practice look bulkier than they do on a Sunday. The padding on top is a Guardian Cap, a soft cover held onto an already certified helmet by snaps and hook-and-loop strips. Nothing is drilled. Guardian Sports sells four versions: the XT and XT 2.0 for youth and college play, the NXT and NXT 2.0 for professionals. The NXT 2.0 picked by the league weighs 12 ounces, close to 340 g.
From four position groups to almost the whole squad
The league phased it in.
• 2022: required at preseason practices for offensive and defensive linemen, tight ends and linebackers.
• Then the full preseason, then regular-season and playoff contact practices, running backs and fullbacks added.
• 2026: every contact practice and every position except quarterbacks, kickers and punters.
In games it stays voluntary. Guardian Sports counted thirty players wearing one during regular-season games in 2026. The helmet underneath still decides most of the outcome, and star ratings model by model sit in the American Football Gear catalogue.
The measured numbers, and their limit
The Virginia Tech Helmet Lab has put these add-ons through its rig. Fit one of the two helmets in a collision and concussion risk falls by 15 to 34%. Fit both and the range widens to 22 to 64%. The catch is the baseline: a weak helmet with a cover can protect less than a strong helmet without one.
One question for amateur clubs
NOCSAE takes a firm line. Bolt an item onto a helmet certified without it and you hold a model nobody tested in that configuration, which lets the maker and the certifying body treat the original certification as void. One question settles it before a squad order: is this cover approved on this precise helmet?