CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow arrived at Bengals training camp on Wednesday with a new helmet in hand, designed to prevent concussions caused when a player's head hits the ground.
Burrow's Vicis Zero 2 helmet is an updated version of a helmet tested, along with three others, by University of Cincinnati biomedical engineering professor Eric Nauman.
Nauman examined helmets made by four manufacturers: Xenith, Riddell, Vicis and Schutt. Burrow's helmet during the 2022 season was a Vicis Zero 1.
During testing, Nauman and other University of Cincinnati researchers "used a modal hammer to strike a dummy head both with and without a helmet to measure how well each mitigated the force of the blow using sensors," according to a press release from UC.
The experiment found that no one helmet design had "superior" reduction for chances of concussion at every part of the helmet.
But overall, the backs of the helmets were by far the weakest point, the study found.
"Most of the locations on the helmet will absorb 80% to 90% of the impact, but the back of the helmet often only gets about 50%" said Nauman. "So when they go backwards, they get tackled and they fall back to the turf, that is an especially risky type of hit. So, our hope is by publicizing this kind of information, the helmet companies will make these safer as we go."
At Paycor Stadium in 2022, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was taken off the field on a stretcher in the second quarter of the game after the back of his head hit the turf.
According to UC, the NFL saw a dramatic increase in concussions in the 2022 season — up 18% from the previous season.
Bengals receiver Tee Higgins and running back Joe Mixon also suffered concussions in 2022.
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