The NFL is trying out a new helmet and up to 15 members of the Kansas City Chiefs roster will be trying it out in 2017.
Chris Conley calls it a “quality of life” issue. The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver is going to be one of several members of the team wearing a new type of helmet that works “opposite” to the way current helmets work, and the hope is to lessen the impact taken by players. For Conley this is a risk worth taking.
Conley said he will be one of 10 to 15 players on the Chiefs wearing a brand new helmet in training camp, along with Alex Smith. The hope is that the new helmet lessens trauma and allows players a better quality of life when they decide to hang up their cleats at career’s end.
“We’re just people, like everyone else,” said Conley in a recent press conference. “When football ends, we will have lives just like everyone else and we want quality of life. If there’s any way we can extend or greaten that quality of life by wearing a different helmet that reduces trauma, we’re going to do it. Some guys want to look cool. Some guys want to have quality of life.”
Conley admitted the helmet looks different and will take some adjustment but it’s worth the attempt to adapt given what the helmet represents.
“I think whenever you change any equipment, it takes a little bit of time for you to get used to it,” Conley said. “The helmet is big, and I think that’s one of the first thing people recognize when you put it on. It’s shaped differently because it works differently. It actually works the opposite way that helmets work; the shell on the outside is soft, and the material on the inside is harder, whereas other helmets, there’s a hard shell on the outside and the material on the inside is softer. It kinda works backwards.”
Conley is expected to take on a much bigger role for the Chiefs this season given the release of Jeremy Maclin. Conley has the incredible speed and athleticism to break out for the Chiefs in his third year with the team. Last season, Conley had 44 catches for 530 receiving yards.