NFL could be going to a new helmet to protect players

The NFL plans to start on time in September, though playing preseason games appears to be in peril. While many feel that this is risking the players' safety in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, the league appears to be taking steps to be playing as safe as possible.

There has been a previous discussion about a special helmet that players didn't appear to be thrilled with. This time, the NFL teamed with Oakley Prizm Len Technology to design a mouth shield for the helmet according to ESPN's Tim McManus.

The Oakley Mouth Shield is a product designed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus on the field of play. Each team should receive the shield over the next week and players will get a chance to test the equipment once camp starts (assuming it's on time). NFL and NFLPA medical experts helped design the mouth shield, but they are still negotiating with the implementation of safety equipment, such as the mouth shield.

“My second year in the league I thought it’d be cool, I put a visor on my helmet,” J.J. Watt said, via Pro Football Talk. “I was like, ‘It looks so cool, I wanna put a visor on.’ I had it on for about three periods of practice and I said, ‘Take this sucker off I’m gonna die out here.’ . . . So now you’re gonna put something around my mouth? You can keep that. If that comes into play, I don’t think you’re gonna see me on the field.”