Sports
Texans’ JJ Watt Isn’t Sure He’ll Play If NFL Makes Players Wear Full Face Shield
Peter G. Aiken/Getty ImagesHouston Texans star J.J. Watt has expressed reservations about suiting up during the 2020 NFL season if the league mandates that players wear a full face shield because of the coronavirus pandemic.The defensive end told ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio he experimented with a visor earlier in his career and quickly changed course because…
Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images
Houston Texans star J.J. Watt has expressed reservations about suiting up during the 2020 NFL season if the league mandates that players wear a full face shield because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The defensive end told ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio he experimented with a visor earlier in his career and quickly changed course because he was uncomfortable with the accessory:
“My second year in the league I thought it'd be cool, I put a visor on my helmet. 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.”
Protective visors are a relatively common sight during games. Face shields that cover the entire facemask aren't a traditional feature of NFL helmets, though.
Thom Mayer, medical director of the NFL Players Association, told ESPN's Adam Schefter in May that “there will probably be a recommendation” to modify players' facemasks to account for the pandemic.
Engineers from the NFL and Oakley have been working on prototypes that would include surgical or N95 material.
“Mayer said he isn't sure exactly how the modifications would look, but he acknowledged that it is realistic to think the new designs could cover a player's entire facemask and that the engineers are working on everything such a design might entail,” Schefter wrote.
Watt may not be the only player with trepidation about the plan. Florio reported last Saturday the NFL is in favor of mandatory face shields but that players would want to experiment with the shields in training camp before addressing the topic again ahead of the regular season.
For the most part, the NFL has been able to operate with minimal disruption during the pandemic. Major offseason business such as free agency, the draft and workouts has been done remotely.
As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to climb, however, the league will need to take more drastic measures.
ESPN's Kevin Seifert reported that the first and last weeks of the preseason have been canceled, and the NFLPA's board of representatives voted unanimously to scrap the entire preseason slate, per Dan Graziano of ESPN.
In addition, teams will likely have to limit the capacity of their stadiums if fans are able to return to stadiums this fall.
Players in full face shields could be another example of the new normal in the NFL.
Bleacher Report's David Gardner interviews athletes and other sports figures for the podcast How to Survive Without Sports.
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