The Detroit Lions will be taking on a new appearance next season. The team revealed the designs for its four new uniforms on Thursday.
The jerseys were the last implement of the team’s rebranding of 2017, with the subtle changes to the font and logo that came earlier this year.
With the brand changing, one thing that remained the same was the colors. The Honolulu blue and gray are still staying around, which is good because those colors pop. Some features of the new uniforms are great, but others fall incredibly short of the mark.
2017 Home Jersey
The feature that sticks out immediately is that the numbers on the uniforms underwent a major overhaul. They are so plainly bland that they work. They went away from the italicized numbers of last year and went basic, and that is a major positive.
The uniform is very vanilla,yet they stand out. The helmet underwent one change, a chrome facemask, that ties this whole look together. It’s a change that could very easily be missed, but it is one of the best alterations the organization made.
One thing that this uniform could go without is the lackluster sleeve design. The assortment of different sized gray lines that have the word “Lions” cookie-cut into them on the right side and a “WCF” patch for their late owner William Clay Ford on the left. The patch on the left side looks great, but the awkward right sleeve design looks terrible. The uniform would look much better without it. All in all, this is a great jersey.
Final Grade: B+
2017 Away Jerseys
Boy, those Honolulu blue numbers just explode off the front of the white jersey, which looks absolutely fantastic. The font and number change, a minor alteration, have pushed these uniforms over the edge, making them stand out that much more. Like the home jerseys, these jerseys are pure and simple, which makes them stand out.
The crisp white as the base helps the blue burst. The blue pants mixed with the blue socks is phenomenal, which is surprising. Most of the time, when the socks and pants are the same color, it looks awkward.
The away jersey follows suit with the horrendous shoulder design, but this jersey as a whole looks better. The helmet follows suit with the chrome facemask and again fits perfectly with the rest of the design.
Final Grade: A
2017 Color Rush Jerseys
Meh. That’s all that comes to mind looking at these. Gray is the third color for the Lions, but an all-gray look just didn’t cut it, there is nothing that makes these uniforms look good.
There isn’t enough blue. The best part of the last two jerseys was how the Honolulu blue stood out, but here, it seems to be lost.
Color Rush jerseys can be so hit-or-miss. There are great ones like Seattle’s, but there are plenty of bad ones, like the mustard disaster that happened with Jacksonville. This one isn’t nearly as bad as those yellow abominations, but they aren’t good. They lack the “it” factor that the last two have. There isn’t anything that stands out; nothing that will draw attention. This jersey falls incredibly flat.
Final Grade: C-
2017 Home Alternates
Now, this is fantastic. This might be one of the best uniforms that the NFL has ever seen. The alternates are throwbacks to the jerseys the 1934 Detroit Lions wore in their first season in Detroit, back when there were only 11 teams in the NFL.
They are immaculate.
The uniform is sleek and flawless. It ditches the shoulder design and replaced it with the Nike swoosh. The pants are a plain gray. There is no flash to them, which allows the focus to stay on that beautiful Honolulu blue top. The helmet, like the pants, have nothing special about them. It doesn’t even have a logo or a stripe on them–nothing but silver. The orderly, blank design will stand out in a world of cluttered jerseys. This uniform is a breath of fresh air.
