The Detroit Lions are due for new primary uniforms, a little overdue actually by the timeframe the NFL allows. But the process was not rushed or taken lightly, which has to be considered a good thing. There will be new Lions' uniforms starting next season, and we know the official reveal is coming on April 18-a week before the draft, which is of course in Detroit this year.
In late-March, Lions president Rod Wood gave some small hints for what the new uniforms will look like. As long as the all-gray "Color Rush" is gone, never to return, it's hard to see many people complaining.
"They’re honoring our traditional color with a little updating and twist. And it gives us a lot more options, too,” Wood added about the new uniforms. “We’re going to introduce a couple different pant options that can go with jerseys, so it will give us different options to wear during the season.”
This week, the NFL announced all teams will be allowed to add a third helmet to their "uniform closet." At the recent league meetings, Wood said the Lions' alternate helmet was getting a tweak.
Rod Wood stretched to hyperbole with new comment on Lions' uniforms
Wood was a keynote speaker at the Detroit Economic Club's NFL draft panel Thursday afternoon, at the Motor City Casino Hotel Sound Board. He spoke about the excitement for the upcoming draft, the Lions' offseason and gave hints about the design of the new uniforms.
Regarding the new uniforms, via Jared Ramsey of the Detroit Free Press, Wood recounted the process involved.
"We've worked on this for two years with the league office, with Nike who designs the jerseys led by Brian Facchini, our chief communications officer, and (chief operating officer) Mike Disner and members of their team."
Wood rehashed the "traditional look with a modern twist" sentiment he passed along before, then pushed into a little hyperbole.
"I think our goal was to honor the past — we have great colors, we have great history— but also put a modern twist on it. So I think when you see them, you'll see both of those things. And you'll see, hopefully, uniforms that propel us for at least the next five years to be one of the great uniforms in the NFL. And we're never going to change them dramatically, but there's always an opportunity to modernize them and I think people will see that."
The hype around new uniforms doesn't always match the execution. The Lions' new uniforms feel sure to be cool, but there were people who didn't like the new alternate helmet that came out last year. As for the new threads becoming "one of the great uniforms in the NFL"? We'll see, but Wood's optimism stretches just a little too far toward hyper