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Tom Brady embraces change with early switch to new helmet

With his longtime Riddell helmet set to be phased out next year for safety reasons, Brady has decided to make the change now.
Credit: David Butler II, USA TODAY Sports
Patriots QB Tom Brady throws a pass in last week's preseason game against Philadelphia.

(USA TODAY Sports) — If you suspect Tom Brady looks a little different this season, it's probably not because he's 41.

Actually, the old man is trying out a new lid after the NFL decided his longtime Riddell helmet will be phased out in 2019 for safety reasons. (Aaron Rodgers faces a similar dilemma in Green Bay but seems to be sticking with his soon-to-be-outmoded model for now.)

But Brady is trying to embrace the change after donning the new helmet in last week's preseason start against the Eagles and even joked Wednesday that it's already been a performance enhancer.

"I asked the guys, I said, 'Do I look any younger or faster in it?' " said Brady, admitting he likes the feel and comfort. "They said yes, so I feel like I might keep it."

However the four-time Super Bowl MVP is adapting to a slightly different field of vision since his previous helmet didn't feature a double-bar at the forehead.

"You’ve seen something a certain way for a long period of time, so I like as much vision as possible with the peripheral vision," added Brady, who copped to some hesitation about the switch. "It’s all important, it all matters, so yeah, just making sure it’s kind of similar to what the experience has always been. Like I said, there’s still some tweaks to go and I’m working it out. But overall, hopefully the helmet provides more protection.

"(T)he 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."

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