Back in Black: Eagles get new helmets for Packers game
Please don’t adjust your television for Sunday night’s Eagles-Packers game. Only the visitors will be wearing green. Philadelphia will feature an all-black uniform, including their first black helmet.
Alternate uniforms are nothing new for the Eagles. They’ve been wearing them to commemorate franchise milestones since 1994. All black uniforms aren’t even new. The Eagles introduced alternate black jerseys in 2003 to celebrate the move from Veterans Stadium to Lincoln Financial Field.
In 2014, the team added black pants to the mix. When Nike couldn’t produce their midnight green jerseys in time for the Giants game, fans got their first look at an all-black Eagles uniform, with a midnight green helmet of course.
Over the years, Eagles players have grown fond of the all-black uniform. They wore the combination twice last year but no Eagle has ever worn a black helmet.
In 2013, the NFL adopted what’s known as the "one-shell rule” limiting teams to one helmet for game days. With the rule eliminated for 2022, the Eagles will be among 14 teams that have either worn, or will wear an alternate helmet this year.
The black helmets will debut on Sunday night and return for the Cowboys game on Christmas Eve and the season finale against the Giants. After that, the real fun begins.
In 2023, the Eagles will finally bring back a kelly green uniform, helmet and all. Fans have been clamoring for a change ever since the team changed colors in 1996. Last spring, team owner Jeffrey Lurie explained the delay:
“We really want to be able to have kelly green jerseys at times and to make it look really right, you need to have matching helmets.”
That won’t be a problem now. The team wants to use the black helmet with the midnight and kelly green versions next year, but the NFL may not allow two alternates. Either way, color Eagles fans excited about the team’s expanding palette.
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