ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The New York Jets recently revealed new helmets and new jerseys that they will be wearing next season. It's an old look, really, going back to their Sack Exchange era during the 1980s.
New looks are nothing new in the NFL, where teams commonly wear alternate helmets and jerseys that often pay homage to the team's past, or attempt to try something bold.
The Buffalo Bills have worn throwback threads, and they have done the Color Rush look with all-blue and all-red uniforms. Those alternate jerseys are all well-liked and look crisp on TV.
What the Bills haven't done is revisit their winning, Super Bowl-era looks with red helmets and huge jersey numbers. Imagine Josh Allen wearing a helmet with the same Bills logo and the same stripe pattern but with a red base, with white and blue stripes racing down the middle. Imagine the Bills defense lining up for a play, sporting uniforms with that Super Bowl-era font.
With the Bills chasing their first Super Bowl appearance in decades, looking to the past for inspiration can't hurt.
Not that long ago, the thought of Buffalo wearing red helmets for a game or two would've been out of the question. The NFL, citing safety amid concussion concerns, allowed teams to use only one set of helmets for years.
That changed with the 2022 season, with four basic rules:
- Teams must get an entire new set of alternate color helmets for all players.
- Those helmets must be the same make, model, and size as each player's primary helmet.
- Those helmets must be made available to all players when training camp begins and should be fit at the same time as the primary helmet.
- Those helmets must be worn in practice during the week of the game when they will be worn.
Do that, and teams can wear alternate helmets without issue. Allen himself has teased a change before, wearing both a red helmet and a blue helmet during recent open practice sessions at Highmark Stadium.
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