WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa likely won't be playing for a new team this season, but he could have a new helmet.
A helmet designed to offer greater protection to a quarterback's head when it hits the ground will be available to NFL players for the first time this season.
The Zero2 Matrix helmet is the first of its kind to be designed specifically for quarterbacks. It's already undergone laboratory testing that simulated concussion-causing impacts suffered by quarterbacks, the NFL said Thursday.
That should be advantageous for players like Tagovailoa, who missed significant playing time last season because of concussions.
The former first-round quarterback had two documented concussions and appeared to have suffered another during the 2022 season, forcing him to miss five games, including the 34-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs.
According to Dr. Ann Bailey Good, a mechanical engineer for Biocore, which conducts the lab tests, the new helmet was 7% better at reducing impact severity compared to other helmets.
The Dolphins exercised their fifth-year option on Tagovailoa last month, meaning he's under contract through the 2024 season.