The Tennessee Titans announced last month they will not wear their Houston Oilers throwback uniforms this season, a decision that made Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon comfortable with No. 1 overall draft pick Cameron Ward wearing his retired number.
“That definitely had something to do with it,” Moon, who played for the Oilers from 1984-93 and had his No. 1 retired by the Titans in 2006, told reporters gathered at Ward’s introductory press conference on Friday afternoon.
Moon also revealed the franchise will unveil new uniforms in the near future that will seemingly blend the Titans’ current branding with an Oilers-inspired design, something we previously suggested could happen ahead of their move into a new stadium in 2027.
“They have, I think, new uniforms coming out that are very similar, so there might not even be a reason to wear the Oilers uniforms again,” said Moon, whose 33,685 passing yards and 196 touchdowns are the most in franchise history.
The Titans reintroduced their Oilers throwback uniforms in 2023, paying homage to the “Luv Ya Blue” era with white helmets that featured light blue and red oil derricks on the sides, light blue jerseys with red trim and white pants with stripes that match the helmet and sleeve cuffs.
The franchise wore this design from 1975-97, including the Oilers’ first season in Tennessee after relocating from Houston. The road version was also worn for the entire 1998 season before the team rebranded as the Titans and unveiled new uniforms in 1999.
The Titans wore the Oilers throwback uniforms three times, including a pair of losses to the Houston Texans, seemingly rubbing it in the face of the fans in their old hometown who still try to claim the nickname, logo and colors as their own despite being the intellectual property of the Titans.
Perhaps the popularity of the Oilers throwback uniforms and the Texans’ encroachment on the color scheme with their “H-Town Blue” alternate uniforms forced the Titans to reassess their current design, which was unveiled in 2018 and notably features navy blue helmets.
Photos courtesy of @Titans on X/Twitter.
