Seahawks could be wearing true throwback unis soon. Russell Wilson is all for it
If Bruce Arians is right, the Seahawks may finally be allowed to wear their Cortez Kennedy-Curt Warner-era throwback uniforms from their Kingdome days.
Arians, Tampa Bay’s coach, said on The Dan Patrick Show national-radio program Wednesday he’s excited his Buccaneers soon will be able to wear their famous creamsicles, their sherbet-orange uniforms from the 1970s and ‘80.
“I think once the helmet rule changes, next year, we might have some creamsicles, some throwbacks—which I think are the best uniforms in the league,” Arians said on Patrick’s show.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy then told NBC Sports: “There will be no change for the 2020 season. There are ongoing discussions for a potential change for the 2021 season, but no decisions have been made.”
The league created a rule in 2013 that teams had to wear only one helmet color in a season no matter what alternate uniform combination it wanted to have. The Seahawks, of course, wear dark blue helmets. Seattle’s throwbacks to their franchise’s beginnings would need a second helmet color, silver. Same with Tampa Bay’s old white helmets to go with the creamsicles, from when both the Seahawks and Bucs entered the NFL as expansion teams in 1976.
Russell Wilson would be all over the rule change allowing the Seahawks to wear the old-school duds.
The franchise quarterback trumpeted his opinion to Arians’ news on social media Wednesday night. He included a pretty sharp, photo-shopped rendition of what Wilson would look like in the throwback team’s true throwback uniforms.
The NFL created the one-helmet rule seven years ago when concerns about concussions and head injuries in the sport were on the rise. The league took the advice of its committee on head, neck and spine health and the player safety advisory panel and passed a rule prohibiting teams from using multiple helmets in a season. The idea is that a broken-in helmet of the player’s normal team color is safer protecting the head than a brand-new helmet right out of its packaging.
Teams currently can change decals and designs on their helmets in a season for special uniform games, such as the Rams changing their horns on their blue helmets between gold and old-school white. Or the Lions taking their logos off their silver helmets and leaving them plain for Thanksgiving home games.
Teams but cannot change shell nor the helmet’s inside padding. That means teams such as the Seahawks, Buccaneers, Eagles, Patriots and Broncos do not have the option of wearing their true throwback uniforms.
I mean, who wouldn’t want to see new Bucs quarterback Tom Brady playing in these for Tampa Bay as soon as possible?
If Arians is correct, this is about to change. Change back, that is.
Much to Wilson’s, and many Seahawks’ old-school fans’, delight.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 7:17 AM.
