Bengals running back Joe Mixon says he won't wear a mouth shield this season
CINCINNATI — Training camp is just a few weeks away, but there are still plenty of safety measures that the NFL and the Players Association have to figure out before practice begins.
One topic that has been discussed is a potential face shield that players could wear on their helmets to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Doctors and engineers from the NFL and NFL Players Association designed the Oakley Mouth Shield according to ESPN's Tim McManus.
The NFLPA generally opposes mandatory use of a face shield, but a mouth shield could help protect players from contracting the coronavirus while they're on the field.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon made it clear that he had no plans on wearing the Oakley Mouth Shield this season.
"Y’all might as well have a pump of sanitizers coming out of our uniforms too while y’all at it," Mixon tweeted. "I won’t wear it."
Mixon, 23, is entering the final year of his rookie deal with the Bengals. He isn't the only player that doesn't plan on wearing a face shield this season. Texans star J.J. Watt has been outspoken about the issue.
“My second year in the league I thought it’d be cool, I put a visor on my helmet,” Watt told Pro Football Talk. “I was like, ‘It looks so cool, I wanna put a visor on.’ I had it on for about three periods of practice and I said, ‘Take this sucker off I’m gonna die out here.’ So now you’re gonna put something around my mouth? You can keep that. If that comes into play, I don’t think you’re gonna see me on the field.”
Wearing a face shield could potentially make it much harder for players to breathe, which would obviously be a safety issue.
The Oakley Mouth Shield has airways and openings, but it is designed to prevent the transmission of droplets that could carry COVID-19.
“We’ve only had it on a few players — we have 2,500 players in the league — but I was surprised that ... claustrophobia has not been an issue yet,” NFLPA medical director Thom Mayer told McManus. “I think it will be when we [have more players testing them].”
The NFL and the union have to agree on protocol for the mouth shield. Will it be mandatory? The NFLPA could object, but the league could still require players to wear it the same way they only allow certain helmets to be worn on the field.
