PHOENIX (AP) — NFL players may be wearing different helmets based on their position in the not-too-distant future.

The chairman of the league's head, neck and spine engineering subcommittee outlined the research that's leading in that direction in an informal gathering with reporters at the NFL owners meetings on Tuesday.

Dr. Jeff Crandall, director of the Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia, said the NFL is working to develop reliable sensors to monitor the minute details of the impact of concussion-causing hits.

Once those sensors are developed, it soon could well be the case of big linemen and speedy receivers wearing helmets that protect different parts of the head.

"There are position-specific cleats, position-specific shoulder pads, and we know that players in different positions receive different types of severity and frequency of impacts," Crandall said, "so we think that a position-specific helmet makes sense."

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