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4 NFL Teams Will Go Old School In 2023

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Old NFL Teams

For NFL fans who grew up before “Color Rush” and neon yellow and green in the Pacific Northwest, 2023 will be just like deja-vu all over again. Four NFL teams: the Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tennessee Titans, will turn back the clock and reintroduce some old history to a new generation.

In 2013 the league established the one-helmet rule. Then in 2022, the New York Giants and Cincinnati Bengals established one new helmet and reintroduced another. The Bengals rolled out a white helmet with black stripes, while Big Blue brought back the old “GIANTS” logo.

14 other teams would take advantage of the helmet rage. The Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, and Carolina Panthers went with black helmets while the Chicago Bears showed an all-orange look.

Now, some old looks get a fresh introduction to their fan base in 2023, and it is sure to please their older fans.

The 4 NFL Teams Going Old School With Throwback Jerseys

Seattle Seahawks

Before becoming a retina-exploding color palette of neon, the Seattle Seahawks wore silver helmets displaying a totem-style logo. At home, the team wore a blue jersey with white numbers. On the road, Seattle would wear a white jersey with blue numbers. Pants for both the home and road uniforms were silver with alternating green-white-blue-white-green striping down the legs. Now, like a few other teams in the league, the old uniforms worn at the clubs debut are back again for a limited run. In Seattle, it is sure to remind fans in the Pacific Northwest of Jim Zorn the great Steve Largent, and the Kingdome.

The uniform of the Seahawks today is one to be either loved or loathed. Now, that long-ago look of the 1976 NFL expansion team is a reminder of an old AFC West foe who would go on to find Super Bowl success in the NFC West 40 years later.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles originally wore Kelly green as part of their uniform color mix from 1935-1996, and one last time on Opening Day in 2010. However, when new ownership arrived in 1996, the Eagles made a change to a more modern style. The wing on the helmet was tweaked and the primary color of midnight green became the central color scheme.

Philadelphia, coming off of a 2022 season where they won the NFC East, and suffered a tough loss in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs. They will look to reestablish the legendary colors worn by other great players. Reggie White, Randall Cunningham, Clyde Simmons, and Jerome Brown to list a few.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Of the four organizations wearing throwback uniforms this upcoming season, these last two teams have the absolute best. In Tampa, it’s a colorful palette the team introduced when they entered the league. The Buccaneers logo features the unique look of fluorescent red and orange, while the logo had the face of a seafarer sporting a wide-brimmed hat. But as great as those inaugural colors were, good fortune on the field was elusive. Including a winless first season and a 26-game losing streak.

The “Creamsicle” uniforms will make a comeback in 2023. Despite the chronic losing, many NFL stars wore the iconic look while playing in the “Big Sombrero”. Steve Young, Vinny Testaverde, Doug Williams, and Lee Roy Selmon all played on Florida’s West Coast. The head coach who would guide the Bucs at their inception was the legendary John McKay from USC.

While the Big Sombrero is no more, the classic look of Tampa Bay Buccaneers football will make one more appearance. Fans in Raymond James Stadium will love these old colors as they fire the cannons this coming season.

Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans are digging deep for what will likely be a home game against the Houston Texans. “Luv Ya Blue”, will pay homage to the last season of the Houston Oilers, before they pulled up stakes and moved to Tennessee.

The Titans organization is part of the charter members of the old AFL. That original lineup featured the Houston Oilers, New York Titans/Jets, Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos, and the short-lived Dallas Texas who would later become the Kansas City Chiefs.

Through five logos, and eight helmet variations, the Titans will honor the colors of the 1981-1996 Oilers. For a great matchup, the Titans will wear Columbia Blue, Red, and White.

Perhaps the best uniform of the four NFL teams wearing throwbacks,  it also was also a great look worn by some great players. Not just those to play for Tennessee, but in the NFL. Names like Mark Stepnoski, Al Smith, Warren Moon, Lorenzo White, Jevon Kearse, and Ernest Givins.

When J.J. Watt was a member of the Houston Texans, he made a public plea to Titans ownership to allow Houston to wear the Columbia Blue one more time. In an April 4, 2019 publication of Texas Monthly, owner Amy Adams Strunk, daughter of original owner Bud Adams’, had her comments on the topic. “Very interesting, except the Oilers don’t have anything to do with the Texans,” she said. “So that’s a hard no.”

2023 will have four games where the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans get it right. As the league veered into the lane of “updated and modern” compliments of Nike, classy retro will show that it is still better than anything being worn in those cities today.

Main Photo: Joe Lamberti – USA Today Sports

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