INDIANAPOLIS — For the next class of players drafted, the NFL plans to begin preventing concussions right from the start.

For the first time, all 329 invited players at this week's NFL scouting combine will be given a baseline brain activity exam and will likely face more grilling than previous classes about their concussion histories.

"We're testing everybody, not just at-risk athletes who have had more than one concussion," said Dr. Art Rettig, an orthopedic surgeon at Methodist Sports Medicine in Indianapolis, which runs the medical part of the combine. "Everybody will have this ImPACT test so they will have a baseline, and whatever team they end up with will be sent that baseline information."

That hasn't been standard in past years, though all 32 teams individually use similar tests on their own. Doctors compare preinjury and postinjury answers to determine whether a player can safely return from a head injury.

By testing everyone at the combine, the league will have a more standardized way of evaluating players and potentially collecting data about repeated hits to the head.

It's the latest step in a movement that started to gain momentum last season, particularly after a study for the league by researchers at the University of Michigan found retired players may have a higher-than-normal rate of Alzheimer's disease and other memory problems.

The league has since adopted stricter policies on allowing players to return to the field after big collisions. Lawmakers in Congress and state legislatures also have jumped into the discussion, and the NCAA is considering additional ways to reduce head injuries in football.

On Wednesday, the league's competition committee heard presentations about helmet designs that could reduce the risk of head injuries. No decisions are expected before next month's owners' meeting.

"We have to admit, this is a tough game, a violent game, a collision game," said John Madden, a Hall of Fame coach, former television analyst and now a consultant to the NFL. "How do we make it safer? We have to educate players and coaches and trainers, equipment is another way and rules changes are another way. But it can't be just any one of those things. It has to be all of them together."

The message seems to be getting through.

On Thursday, NFL Players Association representatives met with the competition committee to discuss possible rules changes along with the possibility of limiting offseason workouts and contact at practices.

As for rules changes, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell used the example of expanding the definition of a defenseless receiver. One possibility would be giving receivers more than the current two steps before they are considered a runner.

Though Goodell wants to adopt new safety measures quickly, finding agreement may be tricky.

"We showed them (players) some videos of things we think could be taken out and it's not universal," Goodell said. "It's about how we define the rule and then how do we teach it."

While management and labor may disagree about specifics, the union also is studying the issue.

Today, the NFLPA will hold its second Player Safety and Welfare Summit in Indy, an all-day event that gives manufacturers a platform to discuss products and services to make the game safer. Later that evening, team doctors will have their annual meeting to discuss better treatments for players. Part of the discussion, Rettig said, will focus on head injuries.