Getty Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions.
The Detroit Lions headed into the 2023 offseason with multiple questions, one of which revolved around uniforms. Would there be new threads for the fans to enjoy next season?
After a bit of conjecture on the matter, the answer finally came down from the top, and it is a resounding no, at least for this coming year. 2024, however, is a different story on that particular front.
Team president Rod Wood spoke with Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. As he admitted, the team is going to take its time with uniform changes, and that is more likely to come for 2024. This year, however, the Lions will be getting a new alternate helmet to go with their gray color rush uniforms. That will be revealed later on this spring.
The news was confirmed by Brad Galli of WXYZ, who said that the helmet change will be for this year while the uniform change will be for 2024-25.
The Lions are getting new alternate helmets in 2023, but a full uniform overhaul is coming in 2024.
The team confirmed to @WXYZDetroit Rod Wood’s comments to @DaveBirkett. The Lions will wear the alternate helmets with their gray uniforms this season.
“The Lions are getting new alternate helmets in 2023, but a full uniform overhaul is coming in 2024. The team confirmed to WXYZ Detroit Rod Wood’s comments to Dave Birkett. The Lions will wear the alternate helmets with their gray uniforms this season,” Galli tweeted.
Detroit’s current uniform and helmet combinations have been around since 2017. Prior to that, Detroit’s last dramatic shift was in 2009, when the team took their traditional bubbles logo and made it more intimidating with a different shade of gray. Beyond that, there were only subtle changes through previous decades.
Best Lions helmet. Who you got?
All bets are off as it relates to what the Lions may reveal as it relates to an alternate helmet, but it’s safe to say it will offer something different for a franchise that has stuck to the norm through the years for the most part.
Lions Were Rumored for Uniform Shift
If the idea of new uniforms seems odd to some fans, it shouldn’t. Last year, rumors percolated that the Lions would be in play to change things up this year with some new threads.
Speaking during the NFL owners meetings in Florida last year, Detroit’s team president Rod Wood took time out to address a bit of an elephant in the room within the fanbase. While uniform changes weren’t on the docket for 2022, the team was looking into them for 2023 last March 28, 2022. At the time, Justin Rogers of the Detroit News was tweeting about the potential for this to play out.
On new uniforms, Lions beginning exploratory process. No guarantees, but something could change next year.
“On new uniforms, Lions beginning exploratory process. No guarantees, but something could change next year,” Rogers tweeted.
The key phrase in that post? No guarantees, and apparently in this case, Wood was a man of his word in terms of taking time and letting things play out with designers.
Still, news of new uniforms isn’t all that surprising for the Lions, who have felt like they could be game for a change for a few years now. Detroit’s last design alteration was well-received, but it also came in 2017. That would mean the Lions will have worn their current uniforms for seven full years at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
The timeline long said that the team could elect to switch things up and go with a different look, and that will likely be the case come 2024. Fans will have to stay patient as it relates to changes to the team’s threads.
What New Lions Helmet Could Look Like
In terms of what will be new this coming year, there will be lots of options for fans to kick around in their head until the reveal actually happens.
While some folks are dreaming of a black or white helmet in Detroit, others wish to see the team revert back to a more classic design. Specifically, a throwback look that was common for the team in the 1980s through 2002. As Twitter user FB Helmet Guy tweeted, the team should go back to a throwback design from that era.
If the @Lions don’t wear this helmet and their throwback uniforms this season, the NFL should revoke their franchise license. It’s been 20+ years, much too long.
“If the Lions don’t wear this helmet and their throwback uniforms this season, the NFL should revoke their franchise license. It’s been 20+ years, much too long,” the account tweeted.
It’s likely the Lions will mix in a white or black alternate, perhaps even a different shade of Honolulu blue. Regardless, it will be fascinating to see what the designers come up with, and how it meshes with Detroit’s gray color rush alternate.