New York Jets Backup Quarterback’s Helmet Change Matter of Safety, Comfort

New York Jets backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor made a helmet change this season after finally finding a brand that suited him.

Dec 29, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; New York Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) throws the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium. / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

For most of his football career New York Jets backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor wore “the bucket.” Or at least that’s what they called the helmet he used to wear.

He’d worn it for so long that Taylor couldn’t even remember what the helmet was called. But it fit him.

It’s not that Taylor didn’t care about safety or new helmets. He said he’s tried just about every model out there, including the ones created by Vicis and Riddell for the NFL. He knew they were probably safer than the one he was wearing.

Twenty-nine years into his football life he decided to take another shot at a new helmet as he entered this season with the New York Jets.

He put on a LIGHT helmet this offseason, a brand referred to him through a friend. This time, something clicked.

“The comfort, for some helmets, it takes a little while to break in,” he said. “And this wasn't the case with this helmet. I wore for a workout, and it felt like it had been my helmet for the last decade.”

The company, founded in 2011, specializes in safe, lightweight helmets.

For Taylor, comfort was key. Wearing a football helmet isn’t natural and they are not one-size-fits-all. Many brands that support NFL players do custom fittings that can include 3-D imaging. In Taylor’s case, he just gave his friend his helmet measurements.

But even with measurements or scans, the comfort isn’t always a given. Every head has its own pressure points, Taylor said, and no one wants constant pressure on their head.

Movement is key, too. So is having a full view of the line of scrimmage. So is getting to “test” the helmet. The last part was the clincher for Taylor.

During a preseason game earlier this year against Washington, Taylor got his final answer.

“I played a few snaps in the Washington game and scrambled on one of the plays and ended up hitting my head on the ground,” Taylor said. “And, I mean, it felt good. I mean, obviously not the hit — I try to avoid getting hit all the time. But the actual collision part of it, like the helmet, the comfort, it confirmed everything that I put in my mind.”

Taylor played on Sunday against Buffalo, his most extensive action of the season. He went 11-of-14 for 83 yards and two touchdowns in mop-up duty of a 40-14 loss.

Taylor acknowledges the reality of concussions in the NFL. He says he’s had a “couple” — there are four documented reports of Taylor having a concussion or being put in concussion protocol during his NFL career — and that was another reason why he wanted to try and move into  a newer helmet brand.

NFL concussions increased slightly in 2023 to 219, from 213 in 2022.

The NFL has poured millions into trying to make helmets and the game safer, partly the result of studies that show concussions can lead to CTE and other ailments and partly out of force due to lawsuits, such as the one that led to a 2013 settlement worth $765 million to 18,000 retired NFL players.

The league has also enhanced concussions protocols, including giving medical experts latitude to remove players from a game from the booth if they believe a hit might lead to a concussion or concussion-related symptoms.

The league has partnered with VICIS and Riddell on five helmets designed to help minimize concussions. Those helmets were at the top of the NFL/NFLPA’s helmet laboratory testing performance results.

Right behind them in sixth was LIGHT’s Gladiator LS-Pro. LIGHT’s other helmet used widely in the league, the Gladiator ATK, was eighth. All fall int the category of “better laboratory performance” and are recommended for use by NFL based on the “ability of the helmet to reduce head impact severity measures in laboratory testing.”

Taylor has always been aware of concussion testing and data, going back to his days in college at Virginia Tech, which is the home of the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab and does its own testing.

He knows the game is inherently physical and there’s no way to completely eliminate injuries. But he also believes the league, its competition committee and partnerships with players and companies like LIGHT are helping to make the game as safe as possible.

“Football is only a portion of our lives, and we all want to be able to enjoy life outside of it,” Taylor said.

That’s why he made the decision to invest in LIGHT and join its advisory board. Other NFL or former NFL players on the board include Cam Jordan, Jordan Palmer, Drew Stanton and John Carney.

It allows him to take an active role in the development of future iterations of the company’s helmets and to leverage that role to help youth football, including his high school in Hampton, Va.

He recently partnered with LIGHT to provide a version of their helmet, the Gladiator, to his former high school program to update its equipment, which he said included refurbished versions of the helmet he used to wear. Taylor was able to do that through his foundation, which focuses on health and wellness.

“It was more so about just getting the kids in a safe helmet,” he said. “If it was something that I wear and it was something that I could vouch for, then I'm all for being able to pour back into my school. And like I said, it was something that I think they needed.”