Sep 6, 2024; Sao Paulo, BRA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs during the first half against the Green Bay Packers at Neo Quimica Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee
A new helmet rule could allow the Eagles to have more uniform combinations in 2025.
Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports provided the details on the rule tweak:
A subtle change in the #NFL uniform policy for 2025.
Teams can now wear their alternate helmets with non-alternate uniforms.
Meaning the #Eagles can wear their black alternate helmets with their midnight green jerseys if they so choose.
What does this mean? For the Eagles, it means that their two alternate helmets — black and Kelly Green — can now be worn with other uniforms. In practice, it wouldn't make any sense to wear the Kelly Green helmets with any other uniforms because they are an entirely different template. But the black helmets could now be worn with the Midnight Green and white jerseys, in addition to the black alternate tops.
Those of you who are really into this stuff will remember that the Eagles did actually wear the black helmets with white jerseys and black pants in their Week 1 victory over the Green Bay Packers last season. But they were facing another green team in the Packers, and there was that weird thing about green being a forsaken color at Corinthians Stadium in Brazil, where the tilt took place. Presumably, some sort of exception was made for that game, because the only time that the Eagles wore the black helmets the rest of the season was in Week 18, the lone time that the black alternate tops were broken out last year:
Saquon Barkley is having one of the greatest team debuts of all time.
📺: #GBvsPHI on Peacock pic.twitter.com/Hvx7tUzGkI
Personally, I'm not a fan of the black helmets. They don't look that much different from the Midnight Green helmets, but the lack of contrast with the black alternate jerseys actually has made the whole look worse. The first picture is the black alternates with the Midnight Green helmets, while the second is the black-on-black:
Jalen Hurts wears a Midnight Green helmet with the Eagles black alternates. (Eric Hartline/Imagn Images)
A.J. Brown models the black helmets with the black alternate tops. (Imagn Images)In any event, this rule opens up the possibility for more black helmet games. We'll see if they choose to utilize it any more in 2025.
