According to a recent article by Pro Football Talk, the NFL is willing to share their concussion research with helmet manufacturers in an effort to possibly create position specific helmets in the not-so-distant future.
If you think about it for a second, everything from cleats, to gloves, and face masks are already being tailored to certain positions, so don't position specific helmets make sense as well?
“We know that players in different positions receive different types of severity and frequency of impacts. So we think a position-specific helmet makes sense," Jeff Crandall, the chairman of the NFL's head neck and spine engineering subcommittee, shared.
Armed with the NFL research, which actually shows that concussion rates were down about 10% this past season when you include the preseason, those involved in helmet research and development may be able to tailor an offensive or defensive lineman's helmet - where they take a ton of low-speed impact on the front of the helmet - to look and function differently than that of a wide receiver or quarterback who experience hits more from the side and with more velocity than their lineman counterparts.
I think it's easier for most coaches to get on board with the idea of position specific helmets that could make the game safer rather than something like eliminating kickoffs or something else along those lines.
Head to PFT to read more, including more thoughts and a timeline from the NFL.