With padded practices in full swing, teams around the league have training camp to familiarize themselves with the NFL's new rule surrounding the lowering of a helmet as part of a hit.
Under the new rule, offending players would be penalized 15 yards and may be disqualified depending on the severity of the hit.
While the change has caused some confusion, Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan has a full grasp on the adjustment.
"I understand the rule," Trevathan told reporters Monday, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. "I was an example of the rule."
The new directive allows the league to penalize, fine, eject or potentially suspend a player who lowers the helmet to initiate and make contact on an opponent.
Trevathan knows firsthand after serving a suspension in 2017 for a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit on Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, so he is familiar what the league is attempting to accomplish.
Other players around the league, however, remain puzzled.
The Philadelphia Eagles hosted NFL officials in the past week, and the referees offered a presentation on the new rule, according to Tim McManus of ESPN.
But instead of clarifying what would constitute an infraction, the presentation apparently caused more confusion.
"We were trying to ask questions to get a better understanding, and yet they couldn't really give us an answer," linebacker Nigel Bradham told ESPN. "They couldn't give us what we were looking for."
Meanwhile, the helmet rule has provided the Bears an unintended consequence, as rookie linebacker Roquan Smith's contract remains unsigned with issues related to the new rule.
The league has player safety in mind when it comes to many rule adjustments, but the current landscape of confusion surrounding the helmet rule could soon replace the angst over what is a catch.
