When the NFL announced that it was banning several helmet models this offseason including the Riddell VSR-4 worn by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, the league also said that players who had been wearing those models could continue to do so for one more season.
At the time, Brady said he had tried other helmets in the past but went back to the old one because he was comfortable with it. He’s tried a new helmet again this summer and said that there are “a few little tweaks” he’d like so that the helmet is “similar to what the experience has always been.”
Brady said that’s particularly important when it comes to how much peripheral vision he’ll have with the new model.
“Yeah definitely,” Brady said in comments distributed by the team. “There’s got to obviously be some protection over here because fingers can get, you know. It hasn’t happened too often in my career but I’ve had a few hands get through the mask a little bit and typically quarterbacks have much more open, like receivers probably do, with the vision. Yeah, I mean, the more you can have the better. It’s not quite going to be like the old Sean Landeta punter one where you had the one bar but it provides enough. But I really like it. It’s been a good transition, smooth transition, which is all I could ask for.”
Brady joked on Wednesday that he’s asked teammates if he looks younger or faster in the new helmet and that they’ve said yes. Brady looked just fine while wearing the new helmet against the Eagles last week so the new look may wind up as the permanent one.