School officials said that 13-year-old Cohen Craddock died over the weekend after losing consciousness during a football practice at Madison Middle School in West Virginia.
His death is one of several among youth football players already this year. Caden Tellier, a 16-year-old high school football player in Alabama, died on Friday after suffering a critical brain injury during a game, according to multiple officials.
Several other deaths due to various causes were reported earlier in the month. According to the latest data from the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, there were 16 deaths among football players at all levels in 2023 — and three were due to traumatic brain injuries during high school football games.
Scripps News
How the NFL is working to prevent concussions and protect players
Cohen Craddock's father Ryan Craddock is hoping to put an end to deaths involving traumatic brain injuries. He told WSAZ-TV that he wants to see football programs at all levels adopt new, safer head protection.
“I want to take the loss of my boy to try to protect the other guys,” he told the station. “I don’t want anybody else to go through what we are going through currently.”
He is advocating for the use of Guardian Caps. Guardian Caps are padded helmet covers that provide impact reduction. In NFL preseason practices with helmets and regular season contact practices, there was an overall 50% reduction in concussions.
In 2023, the NFL began requiring linemen and linebackers to wear Guardian Caps during practices. Starting this season, the NFL is allowing players to wear Guardian Caps during games.
"We now have two years of data showing significant concussion reductions among players who wear Guardian Caps during practice so players will be permitted to wear the cap during games this upcoming season," Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president, said. "Additionally, there are new helmets this year that provide as much — if not more — protection than a different helmet model paired with a Guardian Cap. These developments represent substantial progress in our efforts to make the game safer for players."
Several NFL players have worn the newly approved helmets during preseason games this year.
