Cardinals new uniforms 2023: Arizona's new jerseys, helmets, redesign explained

Jacob Camenker

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Cardinals new uniforms 2023: Arizona's new jerseys, helmets, redesign explained image

Arizona Cardinals fans have long awaited a fresh look for their favorite team, and they finally got it on Thursday.

The Cardinals unveiled three new uniforms for the 2023 season (and beyond) at a special jersey release on Thursday. It marked the team's first jersey redesign since the 2005 season, the first during which Kurt Warner played for the team.

Arizona kept the jersey redesign simple, as owner Michael Bidwill wanted to focus on keeping the uniforms clean while mixing the team's traditional elements in with more modern trends.

So, how did the Cardinals' new uniforms turn out? Here's a look at their redesigned jerseys for the 2023 NFL season.

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Arizona Cardinals new uniforms 2023

The Cardinals unveiled their new uniforms for the 2023 season and beyond at a special event on Thursday.

The team will have three new jerseys: a red home kit, an all-white road kit and an all-black alternate jersey.

Below is a look at the three uniform combinations, via the team's official Twitter account:

For those wondering, the models of the jerseys are, from left to right, linebacker Zaven Collins (No. 25), quarterback Kyler Murray (No. 1) and running back James Conner (No. 6).

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Arizona Cardinals uniform concept

As owner Michael Bidwill explained, redesigning the team's uniforms was a years-long process. And ultimately, one that was about meeting the needs and desires of both the fans and players.

"We had been looking at this, our fans had been talking about it, our players had talked about it, and it was something I had wanted to do," he said, per the Cardinals' official website. "It was important to me that we honor the history of the team and some of the tradition, but also evolve this uniform into something that will be embraced by our fans, by our players, by everyone."

As such, the team working on the jersey redesign — headed by Nike's design director of licenses and team Kristi Lauzonis — decided to focus mainly on three elements.

"The three main things we focused on were, how do we tell the traditional story and amplify some elements from the past, how do we bring it through the lens of modern-classic so it feels fresh, unique, and different for the franchise, and also how are we inclusive of all the fans in Arizona and the players as well, to get people really excited for what is coming with this uniform?" Lauzonis said.

The Cardinals had hoped to get the project done by 2022, but some COVID-related interference in 2020 delayed the process. So, they waited until 2023 to complete the redesign, and Bidwill is happy with the results of it.

"They really speak to our tradition and also our evolution and our future," he said. "They're cool. I think that they're clean. I'm excited about this." 

Cardinals new jerseys, explained

Here is a breakdown of the key traits included in each of the team's new jerseys, as explained at the team's official uniform release.

Home jersey

The Cardinals' home jersey will be an all-red uniform with a white helmet. However, it includes a couple of notable changes from the team's previous look, namely on the jersey's front and with the helmet.

The jersey will have the word "Arizona" emblazoned on the front of it for the first time in team history. It will also have a monochrome black logo on the back of it.

Another cool element of the jerseys: the phrase "Protect the Nest" will be embroidered into the back collar of each jersey.

Below is a full look at the redesigned Cardinals home uniform:

Away jersey

Much like the Cardinals' home jersey, Arizona's road jersey is a one-color uniform. This one is all white and will be matched with the same redesigned helmet as the home jersey.

The away kit will have a plain, red-letter nameplate to "honor the past" look of the team while it will also contain silver and red Framis stripes on the shoulders. It will say "Cardinals" on each shoulder as a part of those Framis stripes.

The Cardinals' away jersey will also have a slogan embroidered into the collar. This one will say "Bird Gang" instead of "Protect the Nest."

Below is a full look at the redesigned Cardinals away uniform:

Alternate jersey

Finally, the team's alternate jersey will also follow a monochromatic scale, as it will be an all-black look. This one also will say "Bird Gang" inside of the collar and will have "Cardinals" printed on Framis stripes on each shoulder.

The biggest difference between this and the other jerseys? There will be a raised, monochrome Cardinals logo on the back in all red. The red jersey had a black version of this, so the relative symmetry between the two is sensible.

The alternate jersey will come with a slick alternate helmet that is black with a red facemask. It will be one of the better-looking alternate helmets across the NFL.

Below is a full look at the redesigned Cardinals alternate uniform:

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Cardinals new helmets

As explained, the Cardinals have a couple of new helmets at their disposal for 2023. Both contain similar elements and should provide the team with the sleek, clean and modern look for which it was going.

Cardinals white helmet

The team's white helmet will be worn with its black and red jerseys. It contains within it three key elements that help to differentiate it from other helmets across the league:

  • It comes with an enhanced, 3D Cardinals logo on the side.
  • It has a silver facemask.
  • It comes with silver flakes within the white helmet background.

Cardinals black helmet

As for Arizona's black helmet, it is structured similarly to the white one. Here are the three elements of note about that portion of the redesign:

  • It comes with an enhanced, 3D Cardinals logo on the side.
  • It has a red facemask.
  • It comes with red flakes within the white helmet background.

When pairing the helmets with the new uniforms, it's easy to understand why Cardinals players are excited about the team's jersey changes.

"I look damn good," Kyler Murray said when asked what he thought of the uniforms. "I just like that they're classic, original. It's going to be hard to mess these up."

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.