The NFL will be back in some form come September. The fans may not be there, but the game will be played on the field. You know they’re going to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

What does player safety look like, come Autumn? Apparently the league is testing out masks to help keep players protected, via ESPN:

NFL engineers and sports equipment company Oakley are testing prototypes of modified face masks that might contain surgical or N95 material, the NFL Players Association’s medical director said Monday.

Speaking on Monday’s The Adam Schefter Podcast, Thom Mayer said “there will probably be a recommendation” that the NFL use such masks to protect players from the coronavirus when the league returns to play.

“Back in early March, I had suggested that we should consider novel and emerging ways to handle the helmets and the face masks and the spread of the virus,” Mayer said. “And these guys, the bioengineers that we use and that the league uses — Oakley, as you may or may not know, does all the face visors for the league under contract — these guys got the bit between their teeth.”

That’s nice to hear, and I’m sure these engineers are excellent at what they do and could conceivably come up with a quality piece of equipment.

However, you can’t wear a mask and play football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, or any sport really.


Even if you play casual rec league sports on the weekend, you know how heavily athletes breathe. You can’t expect them to cover their mouth with a mask and function properly. They will be incredibly uncomfortable, complain, and take the masks off during the game. Think about the linemen who come over to the sidelines for oxygen after a series. Do you think those guys are going to agree to wear a face covering when they’re already gulping for air?

You also can’t communicate properly while wearing a mask. Quarterbacks will be shouting muffled audibles and linebackers will be trying to call muted defensive plays. You’re going to have miscommunication and blown assignments and frustration in that regard as well.

Plus, football is a contact sport, and helmets come off. Facemasks get pulled and grabbed and driven into the dirt. Defenders and offensive lineman are getting their hands up into your face and neck area. These things would have to be solidly built into the helmet frame or else we’re gonna have equipment issues, with guys coming off the field or trying to adjust on the fly. It would be a constant nuisance.

You also can’t insert and remove a mouth piece while something is covering your face, unless you reach up under it or lift it up somehow. And if your mouth is easily accessible, that would defeat the purpose of the covering in the first place.

The other thing here, at the risk of burying the lede, is that theoretically masks would be redundant if everybody is properly tested. UFC fighters are going out and competing in mixed martial arts without facial coverings because they’ve been swabbed and isolated beforehand. If you trust your process when it comes to pregame safety, then the facial covering built into the helmet or facemask really should not matter. You’d just be receiving diminished returns on a mostly pointless extra layer of equipment, added under the guise of caution.

I think we all understand that the NFL and these other leagues are just trying to exercise due diligence when it comes to safety during an unfamiliar and unique period. They’re looking for solutions to a problem that they’ve never encountered before. But you just can’t play sports with something over your nose and mouth, no matter how advanced the technology is.