The NFL embraced soft-shell helmet covers to protect players from concussions. Here’s what the science says about them

Putting more padding around a football player’s head might sound like a good idea, but there’s little independent research showing that it reduces the force of blows to the head or that it prevents head injuries.

Crack! The sound of football helmets colliding on the field is an audible sign that fall is just around the corner. But that sound also comes with a darker side. Mounting scientific evidence shows that repeated hits to the head — even if they don’t result in concussions — may cause lasting damage in the brain and perhaps progressive neurodegeneration called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The problem has set off alarms at all levels of the sport, with coaches, trainers, parents and leagues wrestling with tough questions about whether football can be made safer for athletes. In just the past month, three young players have died after playing football, two of them with head injuries. The third death is still under investigation. After his son’s death, Ryan Craddock, the father of 13-year-old Cohen Craddock, called for all student players to wear additional soft-shell coverings called Guardian Caps. They are not helmets but pliable padded coverings that slip over a player’s existing helmet. “I believe if my son would have been wearing something like this, this would have made a totally different outcome,” Craddock told CNN. “You’re not modifying the helmets. It’s just something that attaches directly on. So why not just have that extra layer of protection?”