Referee Safety

When I touched on this subject in a previous post, I didn't spend much time focusing on the referees in the NFL. Part of my reasoning was that it seemed to be an obvious example of a sport in which the officials are ridiculously vulnerable to injury. After reading an article by Adam Schefter on ESPN.com, I'm glad to see that something might be happening to correct this situation.

Players have gotten much faster and stronger in the years since officiating as we know it came into play. I'd wager that for the most part, referees (with some exceptions) have pretty much retained an average body-type. It's time to make an adjustment.

My question is this --- why does the league need to wait until the season is over to, at the very least, require the referees to wear helmets? It seems to me that this should not be considered a major initiative. A faceless helmet, possibly with a visor, should have minimal (if any) impact on the refs ability to officiate the game as current rules dictate. More sweeping changes, such as positioning on the field, can (and should) be hammered out in the off-season. In the meantime, the NFL should step-up and make every possible effort to protect the officials, immediately.