No, the Cowboys won’t see the Lions’ new blue helmets in Week 17
Yes, the Detroit Lions made a fashion-forward announcement. But no, it appears the Cowboys won’t get an up-close look at it this season.
The Lions unveiled their eagerly-anticipated alternate helmets on Wednesday. The Honolulu blue shells will feature a retro logo that was used by the franchise in the 1960s (originally modeled on a Ford Mustang badge) and will mark the first time in over six decades that the team has worn headgear in a color other than silver.
But league rules are very specific about when a team may break out their alternate helmets. The Lions are not allowed to pair the blue lids with standard home or away uniforms; they can be worn only with their monochromatic all-grey alternate uniforms.
Aidan Hutchinson rocking the new #Lions alternate helmet with their gray uniforms: pic.twitter.com/Hmg8LGwpg1
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 21, 2023
And that means the blue helmets will stay behind in the Motor City when the Lions visit AT&T Stadium in Week 17 this season.
As the home team, the Cowboys almost always wear their traditional white jerseys, basically forcing the visitors to wear a dark-colored jersey.
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That was, of course, one of the reasons why the Cowboys made a unique fashion statement of their own back in the early days of the franchise. By bucking tradition and choosing to wear white at home, ownership invited in a kaleidoscope of visitors’ colors in an attempt to attract more fans to games during an era when the prospect of professional football in Texas was far from a guaranteed success.
Cowboys fans will already see several new uniforms this upcoming season. The Arizona Cardinals will wear their new duds when the Cowboys head west in Week 3, and the Carolina Panthers will debut a slightly-tweaked shade of blue when the Cowboys travel to Charlotte in Week 11.
The Seattle Seahawks have said they’ll be bringing their ’90s-era royal blue-jersey throwbacks to Arlington for Week 13’s Thursday night clash with the Cowboys, and the Philadelphia Eagles are resurrecting their “Kelly Green” jerseys and helmets in 2023, although they have not announced which weeks they’ll wear them.
The Lions have declared they’ll wear their new helmets in Week 8 on a Monday night home date with the Raiders and for the regular-season finale when they host the Vikings at Ford Field.
