Peter King of NBC Sports sat down with San Francisco 49ers tackle Joe Staley in Santa Clara as part of his podcast report on the state of the NFL helmet. A lot of research, development, and money is poured into making the game safer, and head-gear protection has evolved over the years.
King notes that while sitting with Staley just outside the team's locker room, the 34-year-old veteran doesn't appear too beat up from his 12 seasons in the NFL. He does, however, have a scar across the bridge of his nose.
The helmet he started wearing in 2003 while at Central Michigan is now banned by the NFL. It's considered a dinosaur, too unsafe to be used by players today. Staley notes that he has only had two concussions since that first year with the Chippewas, including his time in the NFL. He notes that they were minor ones which didn't leave him too concerned.
"I tried to change in 2012 just because I knew my helmet wasn't ... the safety standards were just starting to come out then," Staley noted. "I knew my helmet wasn't that great so I tried to change in 2012, and went through the whole entire offseason with it.
"Then I went and played the first game against the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau, opening [game]. That's the game where I broke my nose, and a bunch of skin fell off my nose. I have a scar still from it because my helmet didn't fit right. Every time I would block, the bridge of my helmet would just bang down on my nose."
Staley returned to using his previous helmet because it never caused a problem and it fit correctly.
"I didn't really care if it protected my head," Staley continued. "I didn't get concussions, and it didn't break my nose."
Calling Staley's helmet a dinosaur is probably fitting. The veteran tackle jokes that he is so old that his helmet isn't even on the list of available equipment anymore.
You can listen to the entire interview with Staley, and King's investigation into helmet safety, below.