Phillip Wilson of IndyStar wrote a story about the helmet with the first comments from players about it. Wilson has uncovered some interesting players that may be donning the helmet, even if in practice;
Defensive end Dwight Freeney tried one Monday for about 30 minutes. Tight end Dallas Clark, who has had multiple concussions in his career, has been fitted. So, too, have center Jeff Saturday and offensive lineman Ryan Diem.
“Clark loved it,” said Simpson, who is in a partnership with accomplished auto racing team owner Chip Ganassi on the venture. “It’s significantly better in impacts than what they have been using.”
Clark and Saturday are interesting players thinking about the helmet, they have been recent converts to the Xenith brand helmet this would be another switch. I am unaware of what helmet Freeney has had in the past but Simpson now has players that were formerly in Riddell (Polamalu), Schutt (Collie) and Xenith to compare notes with.
Bill Simpson is really excited about the overall weight of the helmet, stating that a lighter helmet will have less energy and force in a collision than a heavier one. Not only will cost be an interesting development, but the actual performance on the field will be something to watch.
The Concussion Blog 
According to the story, two players (Clark and Saturday) are at least thinking about switching from Xenith.
That is a bit odd to me, generally players switch from Riddell, Schutt and Adams Models into Xenith models for safety reasons. In our region, Northern California, the majority of high schools are shifting their football programs over to Xenith. Word of mouth has been spreading quickly out here amongst players and other ATC’s. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out this season.
Simpson’s statement at the end is fairly accurate in regards to weight and forces delivered, but where is the research regarding how well the helmet does in receiving impact forces?
Cantu and Halstead, Nocsae experts have already acknowledged, helmets can’t be improved any better and are not designed to prevent concussion, only skull fracture. Halstead has produced a study suggesting mouth guards help, they should be mandated in the NFL, many players go without. Cantu’s B. U. group has published a paper on helmets and mouth guard, suggesting an orthotic oral appliance developed for boxers and used by the N.E. Patriots, should be investigated further. One Harvard expert strongly agree’s in forwarding this research with the U.S. Army, yet silence from the NFL. This may be part of the solution, without investigation, there is no proof, only history of use.
study peer reviewed by Harvard MGH crainial facial expert Dr. Jeffery Shaefer
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19614931
http://www.bu.edu/cste/our-research/academic-articles/