Tag: Helmet

Broncos got input from players for new alternate helmet

“The uniform is almost like a super suit. When they come out onto the field, what they are wearing should be motivating and inspiring.”

The Denver Broncos will break out a new alternate helmet during the 2023 season this fall.

Last month, the Broncos unveiled a white helmet with a throwback “D” logo. They have dubbed it their “Snowcapped” helmet, a nod to the Rockies.

Denver involved players in the process of choosing a new alternate helmet, and safety Justin Simmons served as a model for photos to show team ownership.

“Our players were very involved,” team president Damani Leech said on July 26. “With our full group of captains. We had several meetings with them, as we said. We showed them color palettes, and ultimately, we narrowed it down to a few. … 

“[They were] heavily involved, and I think it’s important to have them involved. They have to wear it. We talked about how the uniform is almost like a super suit. When they come out onto the field, what they are wearing should be motivating and inspiring to them. It’s important. They have to wear it, so their input is really important.”

The Broncos will wear the new alternate helmet with their existing Color Rush uniforms this fall. The new helmet has received mixed reviews from fans, but nobody will complain if the team wins games with the new look.

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Broncos Wire podcast: Injuries, Nathaniel Hackett, Hall of Fame and more

On the latest Broncos Wire podcast, Ryan O’Leary and Jon Heath recap the injury updates, Hackett drama, Hall of Fame semifinalists and more.

The Denver Broncos had quite an eventual first week of training camp.

To break down all the news and updates, I joined host Ryan O’Leary on the Broncos Wire podcast to recap and react to the latest developments. You can listen to episode No. 82 below:

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Our unedited notes for this week’s pod can be seen below. 

Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler injuries 
  • Patrick, 29, suffered a non-contact Achilles tear on Monday. He will be placed on IR and miss the entire 2023 season. Patrick also missed the entire 2022 season with a torn ACL. He signed a three-year, $34 million contract extension late in the 2021 season and will now miss 34-straight games. Patrick has a potential out in his contract next spring. If the Broncos bring him back, Patrick will turn 31 during the 2024 season and have a $13 million salary cap hit.
  • Hamler, 24, was diagnosed with pericarditis, which he called a “mild heart irritation.” The Broncos waived him with a non-football illness designation. If they placed him on the reserve/NFI list, Hamler would have been ruled out for the entire 2023 season. Instead, Sean Payton said Hamler will need about a month to recover and then a few weeks to get up to football speed, then Denver might bring him back.
  • Hamler has had awful injury luck since being drafted by the Broncos in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft. Hamler has been unavailable for 27 of the team’s 50 games over the last three years.
  • Big-name WRs available include Julio Jones, Jarvis Landry, T.Y. Hilton and Kenny Golladay, but Denver seems more likely to stick with in-house options. Behind Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton, the top candidate to step up and help replace Patrick and Hamler is second-round pick Marvin Mims.
Sean Payton blasts Nathaniel Hackett 
  • Hackett, of course, is now OC for the Jets. New York head coach Robert Saleh stood up for Hackett and said “there’s a lot of crows pecking at our neck.”
  • Jets OL Billy Turner (who played under Hackett with the Packers and with the Broncos last season) called Payton an “[expletive] bum” and “childish” on his Instagram story.
  • Jets QB Aaron Rodgers said the comments were “way out of line” and Rodgers also called Payton “insecure.”
  • Hackett suggested that Payton broke a coaches code and he said “it’s unfortunate that that had to happen.”
  • The damage has clearly been done, though, and the Jets won’t forget those comments. Denver will host New York in Week 5 🍿🏈
Broncos have a new alternate helmet 
  • The Broncos have to wear the alternate helmet with their existing Color Rush uniform, which is all-orange. Some fans wanted the team to wear all-white or white pants with it.
3 former Broncos one step closer to Hall of Fame 
  • Broncos Super Bowl 50 champion DeMarcus Ware will sing the national anthem before the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday and he will then be enshrined in Canton as part of the 2023 class on Saturday.
  • Looking ahead to next year, ex-Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar is among 12 senior semifinalists for the 2024 Hall of Fame class. Up to three senior candidates will be elected to the 2024 class.
  • Mike Shanahan, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Broncos, is among 12 semifinalists in the coach/contributor category for 2024. Only one coach/contributor will be enshrined with the 2024 class.
  • Late coach Dan Reeves is also a coach/contributor semifinalist for 2024. Reeves reached nine Super Bowls as a player and coach, representing the third-most in NFL history only behind Bill Belichick (12) and Tom Brady (10).
Two quick questions on special teams to wrap things up
  • 1. The NFL has a new rule this year — a fair catch on a kickoff will result in the ball being spotted at the 25-yard line (even if it’s fielded inside the 25). Many coaches don’t like the change, and Sean Payton thinks it will have unintended consequences. The idea is to make the game safer by creating even fewer kickoff returns, a play that is responsible for many injuries every season. Do we think it’s a good rule change?
  • 2. Pat Surtain got a few reps as a punt returner this spring. He’s very willing to contribute on special teams, but the Broncos are only having him practice for emergency-type situations, not as a primary returner. Being such a valuable player, should Surtain even be a fallback option as a returner?
We will return later in the offseason with new podcast episodes as news pops up. If you enjoy this podcast, you can check out previous episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or on your podcast service of choice. Please consider giving the podcast a positive rating and review!

You can listen to every past episode below or at this link.

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Broncos president Damani Leech says team is working on new uniforms

The Broncos are working on new uniforms with a TBD timeline. “When we are ready to share something, we will certainly be sharing it.”

After the Denver Broncos unviewed a new alternate helmet, fans quickly began asking when new (or at least revamped) uniforms will arrive.

The Broncos hired Damani Leech as their new team president last August and the topic of new uniforms was instantly raised. Since then, Denver has sent a poll to season ticket holders asking for input about the possibility of new uniforms, and Leech has hinted on Twitter that new uniforms are being worked on.

During his pre-camp press conference last week, Leech confirmed publicly for the first time that new uniforms are on the way. There is no timeline for when those uniforms will be unveiled, though.

“We are definitely working on it,” Leech said on July 26. “When fans should expect it is still TBD. For those who know, it’s quite a lengthy process, both with the league and with Nike. Carrie [Walton Penner] has been great in this.

“She led a team of us, and we went up to Beaverton this past spring and spent a day with the Nike folks, talking about concepts, helping them understand what it means to be a Bronco and what we think about our community. We are still working on it and when we are ready to share something, we will certainly be sharing it.”

Those comments seem to suggest that the Broncos will not have new uniforms in time for the 2024 season, but that’s just our interpretation. Many fans have asked for the team to return to the old “D” logo with a lighter throwback blue replacing the current navy blue (similar to this design).

For now, we wait. As Leech said, the team will share new developments when they’re ready. We don’t know the exact timeline, but new uniforms are on the way.

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Broncos will unveil their new alternate helmet tomorrow

The Broncos will unveil their new alternate helmet tomorrow.

Story update: The Denver Broncos unveiled their new alternate helmet on July 25. See our original post below. 

Tomorrow’s the big day.

More than four months after initially teasing their (white?) alternate helmet, the Denver Broncos will finally unveil the new look on Tuesday (July 25).

The Broncos are going to wear their new alternate helmet with their Color Rush uniform this season. If the team is not making changes to the existing Color Rush design, their new helmet might look like the graphic in the above tweet.

If Denver is changing its Color Rush uniform, some fans have speculated that the team could switch to an all-white design such as this:

If an all-white Color Rush design is in store, the Broncos have already been beaten to the punch by the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, who both have all-white alternate uniforms of their own.

We will presumably find out tomorrow when Denver unveils its alternate helmet which uniform design will be featured with the helmet this fall. While we wait, here’s a look back at the team’s helmet history.

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A look back at the Broncos’ uniforms through the years

Here’s a quick look back at the Broncos’ uniform designs since 1960.

The Denver Broncos have had the same primary uniform design since 1997 and the same primary jersey color since 2012. Changes could be on the way soon.

Last November, the Broncos sent a poll in an email to season ticket holders asking for their opinions on the team’s uniform future. That seemed like a clear sign that Denver was doing its homework before a potential new uniform design.

A few months after that poll went out, team president Damani Leech hinted on Twitter that the team is working on a new uniform design. Nothing is imminent for a new uniform, but it seems that the process has started.

The Broncos are set to release an alternate helmet ahead of the 2023 season, and an overhauled uniform might be in store down the road.

Here is a great GIF from Fantatics showing Denver’s uniforms over the years. Below are photos highlighting the key changes and new additions to the Broncos’ uniform design since the team started playing in 1960.

Broncos LT Garett Bolles to wear new position-specific helmet in 2023

Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles will be among the first players to wear a lineman-specific helmet from VICIS during the 2023 season.

Position-specific helmets are making their way to the NFL.

In April, the NFL and NFL Players Association approved a quarterback-specific helmet made by VICIS that aims to help reduce concussions. The VICIS Zero2 Matrix QB helmet aims to reduce helmet-to-ground impacts that are often responsible for causing quarterback concussions.

VICIS has also released an offensive/defensive lineman-specific helmet, the VICIS Trench. Denver Broncos left tackle Garett Bolles will be among the first players to wear the helmet, a VICIS representative told Broncos Wire.

The VICIS Trench was the top-rated helmet in the NFL’s laboratory testing that intends to “represent potentially concussive head impacts.”

The NFL has been attempting to make the game safer with new rules and new equipment aimed at reducing concussions, but head injuries increased by 18% last year with 149 concussions reported, up from 126 in 2021.

An alarmingly high number of former players have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in retirement, including late former Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who died at age 33 in 2021.

The NFL’s lab tests suggest these new position-specific helmets might be able to help reduce concussions going forward. Bolles will be among the first offensive linemen to try it.

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Poll: What do you think of the Lions new alternate helmets?

Poll: What do you think of the Lions new alternate helmets?

The new Lions alternate helmet has been out for a few hours now. The blue shell with the matte grey facemask and the throwback logo with the vintage Lion on the sides has made quite a splash on the Detroit fanbase. National interest has been very strong too.

Now that you’ve been able to see it and let it sink in a little bit, what do you think of the alternate helmets? They’ll be worn for two games this coming season with the base grey Color Rush uniforms.

Share your thoughts and vote for the response that best suits your attitude on the new helmet:

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The new Lions alternate helmet unveiled

The Lions unveiled their new alternate helmets for 2023

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After considerable fanfare and several teases by the team’s social media department, the Detroit Lions have officially unveiled the alternate helmet that the players will wear for select games in 2023.

It’s a blue-based helmet with an old-school throwback logo that honors the team’s 90th season and ties to the Ford family ownership and auto industry in Motown.

The Lions released a little guide picture illustrating all the symbolism included in the alternate helmet:

Another look at the helmet, this one from the NFL:

From the team’s Instagram post:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ctwh5nsMYcb/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Look: The Lions tease their new alternate helmet

Look: The Lions tease their new alternate helmet on the team’s social media

The Lions are keeping the excitement rolling into the doldrums of the NFL schedule. On Monday night, the team’s social media department offered up a teaser for something many Lions fans have been wanting for a long time.

Via the team’s Twitter account, the Lions appear to have indicated they’re going to reveal the new alternate helmet. Check the license plate on the classic car and the “June 21” emblazoned on the trunk.

Could there be more clues from the picture? The license plate is Michigan’s “Historical” commemoration. Does that mean the alt helmet will reflect upon the Lions’ heritage? The Honolulu blue chassis with the polished chrome bumper, is that a tease too?

We’ll find out in a couple of days…