I remember watching a football game with my buddy a few weeks ago and we were talking about the offensive and defensive linemen; he asked me a question I couldn’t answer – Do any linemen in the NFL use fingerless gloves? I was so intrigued by the thought of them doing something I hadn’t seen before that I had to find out the answer.
So I did some research, and even reached out to an old high school baller who’d been drafted just a few months before. It turns out that there are a few linemen who prefer to use them. The reason they do it is because it gives them more mobility and better grip. They can grip the ball and their opponents better if their fingers are free. Fingerless gloves also provide more dexterity and allow for more positioning during a play.
That’s not to say that all linemen are using them. In fact, majority of linemen stick with the traditional hand protection and prefer more coverage. Some linemen feel awkward wearing them, while others don’t like having their fingers exposed to potential injury. As a matter of fact, some of the traditionalists will stick it out and never switch to fingerless gloves.
But if you pay attention to the details, it’s easy to tell which linemen are wearing the fingerless gloves, and which ones are sticking to the traditional ones. Most of the fingerless glove wearing linemen have more controlled movements on the field and are better able to guard their opponents.
Although I still don’t know why fingerless gloves are gaining traction among some linemen, there are definitely pros and cons to it. On one hand, making quick adjustments on the field could be easier. On the other, their hands are more vulnerable because they aren’t covered with the full protection. It’s hard to know whether fingerless gloves are the way to go or not.
There are still many unanswered questions about the use of fingerless gloves for linemen – is it safe, does it make them better players, and what type of glove is best? I guess that I’m still in the dark, but I’m sure as time goes on, more information on the subject will come to light and I’ll be better informed. Who knows? Maybe I can even try out a pair of fingerless gloves and see how it goes. Before you know it, I’ll be throwing on the pigskin instead of just watching it.