Steelers Daily: Time for a New Look?

By Alan Saunders

·July 14, 2022

Hines Ward at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2007 home opener. The Steelers beat the Bills 26-3. This was the 500th win for the Steelers, who wore the 75th year "Throwback" uniforms. -- SteelCityHobbies | CC-BY 2.0

The Cincinnati Bengals debuted a new alternate look for the 2022 season on Thursday, pairing their white uniforms with a black-and-white helmet. The Houston Texans have announced they’ll wear an alternate red helmet this season, the New Orleans Saints have a new black helmet, and the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots have announced throwback looks.

Wait a minute, Doc. Are you telling me the red uniforms are back? pic.twitter.com/X1pd6kpdpG

— New England Patriots (@Patriots) June 22, 2022

All of those changes came about thanks to the NFL repealing its one-helmet rule, which prevented teams from using multiple helmets over the course of a season. That measure was made to ensure that players aren’t forced to wear ill-fitting or uncomfortable helmets on short notice for aesthetic purposes that might override the safety factor of playing in the same helmet year-round.

The updated rule allows for two sets of helmet shells, but mandates that helmets be made available in the same make and model that players typically wear, must be distributed at the start of training camp and be worn in practice the week leading up to appearing in a game.

Should the Steelers jump on board and get a new look? It’s been a while since they wore a different helmet. The team sported a gold throwback look from 2007-11.

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