Late in his team’s game against the Green Bay Packers on September 15, Indianapolis Colts tight end Kylen Granson caught a short pass over the middle of the field, charged forward, and lowered his body to brace for contact. The side of his helmet smacked the face mask of linebacker Quay Walker, and the back of it whacked the ground as Walker wrestled him down. Rising to his feet after the 9-yard gain, Granson tossed the football to an official and returned to the line of scrimmage for the next snap.

Aside from it being his first reception of the 2024 National Football League season, this otherwise ordinary play was only noteworthy because of what Granson was wearing at the time of the hit: a 12-ounce, foam-padded, protective helmet covering called a Guardian Cap.

Already mandatory for most positions at all NFL preseason practices, as well as regular-season and postseason practices with contact, these soft shells received another vote of confidence this year when the league greenlit them for optional game use, citing a roughly 50 percent drop in training camp concussions since their official 2022 debut. Through six weeks of action this fall, only 10 NFL players had actually taken the field with one on, according to a league spokesperson. But the decision was easy for Granson, who tried out his gameday Guardian Cap—itself covered by a 1-ounce pinnie with the Colts logo to simulate the design of the helmet underneath—in preseason games before committing to wear it for real.

  • Flying Squid
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    1 month ago

    I’m not the one calling for dissolution of an industry I disapprove of.

    Cool. Neither am I.

    I just suggested maybe it wasn’t a good idea anymore and pointed to similar bad idea sports we stopped doing because they’re dangerous and stupid.

    Maybe you didn’t notice that what with your telling an absolute whopper about jousting, doubling down on it, and then getting angry when you were shown that you were 100% in the wrong.

    And you’re still 100% in the wrong, by the way.

    Also, if you were serious about drinking tequila first thing in the morning, you have a serious addiction problem and I sincerely hope you get the help you need.

    • HonkyTonkWoman
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      1 month ago

      Never got angry about any of this, you sure do like reading other people’s intentions incorrectly.

      And yes, you joined a thread talking about the efficacy of additional protection of football players & suggested that rather than embracing that protection as a step in the right direction, the sport just should just cease to exist.

      Ergo… You’re calling for dissolution of multi billion dollar industry because you don’t like it.

      And and… I’m not wrong about jousting. Jousting was blood sport plain & simple. No one ever tried to make jousting a safer sport. Not for the humans & not for the horses.

      Now, let’s just get this next part over with quickly…

      Please go ahead and call me a liar again so you can embrace smug sense of superiority & go on about your day.

      • Flying Squid
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        11 month ago

        I’m very sorry, I had no idea I was talking to someone with a substance abuse problem so badly that it would impair their basic judgment.

        Again, I sincerely hope you get the help you need.

        • HonkyTonkWoman
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          21 month ago

          Look at you! Passing judgement on a stranger again!!

          I don’t have a substance abuse problem. You have a stick up your patoot & crave the approval of this comments section.

          Just acknowledge your opinion isn’t gospel. Just acknowledge you don’t have all the info on jousting you think you have. Just acknowledge you don’t like football & don’t think other should either.

          It’s going to be a lonely mountain to stand on top of if you keep calling everyone who disagrees with you a drunken liar.

          Jousting was dangerous and could result in serious injuries, including broken bones, internal injuries, and even death. Injuries could include bruising, skewering, and decapitation

          [“Despite all these safeguards it could still be lethal, as Henry found out. “Twice, in 1524 and 1536, his love of jousting brought him within inches of death -  even for kings it was a dangerous sport”, remarks Thom Richardson in his book”

          Henri II of France died in 1559 when a splinter of lance pierced his eye-slit and Charles IX was seriously injured in 1561, which largely contributed to the decline in jousting in France, according to Zeev Gourarier in his article “From the game of ‘catching the brass ring’ to the roundabout” (Livrustkammaren, Journal of the Royal Armoury, 1991-2).](https://www.livescience.com/jousting)

          • Flying Squid
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            11 month ago

            It’s even given you a memory problem.

            Again, I sincerely hope you get the help you need.

            • HonkyTonkWoman
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              31 month ago

              Memory problems… you called me a liar for claiming jousting led to decapitations. I just proved myself correctly.

              Seems like you’re the one sundowing here Goldie. Should we settle you down in front of Wheel of Fortune so you can vibe with your favorite bigot, Pat Sayjack?

              Or maybe you prefer the feud & the hypocrite Steve Harvey.

              You are the liar. Liar Liar Pants on Fire….

              • Flying Squid
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                11 month ago

                You’re apparently already drunk.

                Yet again, I sincerely hope you get the help you need.

                • HonkyTonkWoman
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                  21 month ago

                  No, I’m onto my peyote now.

                  I really hope you get a sliver of pine wood to eye, from a Douglas fir lance, after a horse rolls up on your shattered pelvis, as you lie there wishing you had half the medical resources available to a football player.

                  Then maybe. Just maybe. You’ll acknowledge you aren’t the end all of be all of this conversation.