Robert Hunt will try something no Carolina Panthers player has yet in Week 18

Carolina's star right guard Robert Hunt will become the first player in franchise history to make the change.

Tim Weaver | Jan 3, 2025

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 22: Robert Hunt #50 of the Carolina Panthers is introduced prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Bank of America Stadium on December 22, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. / (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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Carolina Panthers

With only one game left to play in the 2024 NFL season, it's a good time for players and coaches to think about shaking up the way they do things. Teams who are headed for the playoffs often rest their starters for the final game of the year, and sometimes teams who are headed home early will give younger players more snaps to evaluate them.

In that spirit, Carolina Panthers right guard Robert Hunt is going to try something different - in Sunday's season finale against the Atlanta Falcons Hunt says he will be wearing the Guardian cap helmet - making him the first player in franchise history to do so.

Hunt was asked by reporters yesterday if there was any specific reason why, but Hunt replied he just wanted to give it a try, according to Kassidy Hill at the team website.

Robert Hunt on Guardian cap helmet

"I think it's pretty dope. I think it's very pretty... So, I'm gonna put this on this weekend, man, strap it up one last time for the year, see how I feel, and if it feels great, I'm going to go with it next year. I literally just woke up like, you know what, I'm about to try this, why not try it?"

The Guardian caps have a different design than the traditional type of helmets NFL players use - and they have been proven to cut down on the percentage of concussions.

Hunt signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Panthers this past offseason and so far he's lived up to his end of the bargain. At least when Chuba Hubbard has been healthy, Carolina has produced one of the game's best rushing attacks this season, and Hunt has frequently been the key blocker on Hubbard's big runs.

While there's no debating Hunt's run blocking, Pro Football Focus hasn't thought much of his pass protection this season - giving him just a 57.5 grade there compared with 72.0 in run blocking. However, Hunt has performed well enough overall to be named one of three Pro Bowl alternates for the Panthers this year. You can make a strong case against paying guards, but this is one investment that's working out well for general manager Dan Morgan.