According to multiple sources, the Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Commanders will all unveil new alternate helmets this summer, confirming a previous report from FanDuel’s Zach Cohen.
Details are limited at this time, so it’s unclear if the Browns, Commanders and Saints will introduce a new shell color or simply tweak their existing alternate designs. But one thing for certain is that the Chargers and Steelers will finally add a second shell to their respective closets, leaving the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers as the only teams without a second shell.
The Browns unveiled white alternate helmets in 2023 and have paired them with their 1946 throwback uniforms ever since, but they could be adjusting the stripes to better match their pants. They could also reveal a new brown shell to pair with their Color Rush design, though that hasn’t been worn since 2022.
The Commanders, meanwhile, have worn black alternate helmets alongside their black alternate uniforms since their rebrand from the Washington Football Team in 2022. It’s expected that they’ll adjust the decals to match their standard burgundy helmets rather than add a new gold helmet or any other color shell.
The Saints could also tweak their black alternate helmets, which were revealed in 2022, by replacing the fleur-de-lis pattern on the front with more traditional stripes, though they could also choose to add an old gold helmet to complement their 1967-68 throwback uniforms instead of swapping decals on their standard gold lids.
The Chargers, on the other hand, will almost certainly reveal a navy blue helmet that matches their Color Rush uniforms, complete with the same gold lightning bolt on the sides as their jerseys and pants. This would be a nod to their 1988-2006 helmets and would no longer force them to change the decals on their standard white lids.
Lastly, the Steelers appear to be on the verge of reviving their gold helmets, which they wore from their founding in 1933 through the 1962 season, as well as for throwback games from 2007-10. They’d presumably wear them with their Color Rush uniforms, which aside from the black pants, are similar to the aforementioned throwback set, which featured white britches.
That said, these new helmet designs are independent of the NFL’s new “Rivalries” series, which kicks off with teams in the AFC East and NFC West unveiling a new alternate uniform this season and will expand to the AFC South and NFC North in 2026, AFC West and NFC East in 2027 and the AFC North and NFC South in 2028.
Riddell – which produces both on-field and collectible helmets – has insinuated the “Rivalries” uniform series will feature new helmet designs for every team. We won’t know until the fall if that means they’ll swap decals on their current helmets or add another shell, but it’s worth noting one team set to participate this season, the New York Jets, have already maxed out their helmet slots (green, black and white).
Additionally, our sources have indicated that no teams are planning to unveil an entirely new uniform set this offseason. That process typically takes place ahead of the NFL Draft, but even with now in the rearview mirror, some outlets have run with Warren Moon’s recent comments on the Tennessee Titans’ looming uniform redesign as if they’ll debut in 2025 when they will not.
The same goes for the Commanders, who are reportedly considering changes to their uniforms, which means this will mark the first offseason since 2016 without at least one team replacing its standard home and road designs or undergoing a full-on rebrand. The last time it happened before that was 2010, so it’s not very often we get this far into the offseason with some sort of NFL-related uniform reveal.
Photos courtesy of @RiddellSports, @Browns, @Commanders, @Saints, @chargers and @steelers on X/Twitter.
