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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    110 hours ago

    It’s even given you a memory problem.

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

    • HonkyTonkWoman
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      fedilink
      19 hours 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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        19 hours ago

        You’re apparently already drunk.

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

        • HonkyTonkWoman
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          fedilink
          19 hours 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.

          • Flying Squid
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            19 hours ago

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

            • HonkyTonkWoman
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              fedilink
              19 hours ago

              “Talkin’ tough’s easy when it’s other people’s evil & you’re judging what they do & don’t believe”

              I really hope you start seeing other opinions as valid & that you can stop assuming everyone’s a drunken liar.

              • Flying Squid
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                18 hours ago

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

                • HonkyTonkWoman
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                  fedilink
                  17 hours ago

                  You are the only one who can help me, please don’t go. Please don’t leave my all alone with my multitudes of football fans.

                  I promise I’ll read your bible & subscribe to your newsletter. I’ll even badger all my friends on Facebook to purchase your magic elixir.

                  Just please don’t leave me, I’m so drunk and alone without you.

                  • Flying Squid
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                    17 hours ago

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