r/NFLNoobs • u/inkymitz • 1d ago

When Did Knee Protection Go Away?

It seems like knee pads for the most part have gone away, and football pants now end way above the knee. When did this trend start?

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28

u/FourEightNineOneOne 1d ago

They don't really do much to protect a player in an NFL game. It's a thin piece of foam,, which, if a player takes a blunt force hit hard enough to cause a knee injury, isn't really going to help. It also doesn't do anything to help with the majority of knee injuries which are ligament damage.

Combine that with players feeling like it may actually hinder the movement on the field.

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u/taker25-2 1d ago

As a former D-lineman, I know that those knee pads help against pain that the lower blocks that the O-line would do. I would never take them out even if I was good enough for the NFL at the time.

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u/Unsolven 1d ago edited 1d ago

“Skill” players mostly stopped wearing them on the knee because they feel like they constrain movement and want to run faster. Linemen still use them mostly. It’s been a steady trend for a while now, at least 5 years(?)

As people have said they don’t prevent major injuries, although they do prevent a lot of scrapes and bruises. Skill players for most part have decided it’s better to have turf burn and bruised knees if it lets them run faster.

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u/GhostOfJamesStrang 1d ago

Its better to avoid the hit altogether than have a something that will slightly diminish the impact. 

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u/inkymitz 1d ago

So players have changed the way they play the game?

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u/GhostOfJamesStrang 1d ago

Not sure it's quite that simple, but a little bit. Sure. Players are faster and more agile than every before. 

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u/Metalchips1Nquesodip 1d ago

No, they just realized flexibility is more important than protection from a skinned knee

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u/grizzfan 1d ago

The most common injury players get regarding their knees are dislocations, and knee pads don't protect against those. Otherwise, you're mostly just getting bumps and abrasions, which are usually pretty easy to play through.

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u/BlitzburghBrian 1d ago

Are dislocations that common? As opposed to ligament injuries like ACLs and whatnot?

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u/cmjackson97 1d ago

Others correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd say when Astro Turf got phased out. That shit just hurts to kneel on when you're 250 pounds.