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Will This Device Protect Athletes’ Brains, or Only Make Them Think It Does?

More and more pro and college athletes are trying on the Q-Collar as they search for something, anything, that might keep their brains safe. But does it work?

Drue Tranquill, a linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers, started wearing the Q-Collar this season after a hard hit on a punt play last year landed him in the NF.L.’s concussion observation program.Credit...Kyusung Gong/Associated Press

Michael Sowers, a star of the Premier Lacrosse League, endured his fifth diagnosed concussion in 2021. His personal doctor told him he might want to consider retiring, but another physician had an idea that would keep him on the field.