What’s with those bobblehead NFL helmets?

If you’ve been watching the NFL this season, you’ve probably noticed that a few dozen players have pretty big heads. Not in the diva sense, but literally. Take Chris Olave, the New Orleans Saints wide receiver. He wears a Guardian Cap, a padded cover on his helmet for added protection against head trauma. The trade-off is that it makes him look like he just nabbed a mushroom power-up in Super Mario. Olave, who suffered four concussions in his first three NFL seasons, has made peace with that. “Shoot, I got kids now,” he said after the Saints’ season opener. “I want to live a regular life after I’m done with football. I love my kids to death. So, I don’t really care how it looks no more.” A detail of a guardian cap a protective cover for the helmet for Chris Olave #12 of the New Orleans Saints during the second half of a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Caesars Superdome on October 11, 2026, in New Orleans, Louisiana. [Photo: Derick Hingle/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images] The NFL has spent the past decade trying to bring its concussion numbers down, with mixed results. In-game concussions fell 15% to 129 in the 2024 regular season, then jumped 30% to 168 last year. Much of that i…

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