A tiger can't change its stripes, but maybe it can get a makeover.
The Bengals are the next team in line for a new look come 2021, with Nike giving the Joe Burrow era a bit of a facelift. A few uniforms posted on eBay may show that the Bengals' new look has been leaked:
Did the Bengals new uniforms just get leaked via eBay? @JoeGoodberry @pauldehnerjr pic.twitter.com/p7PTYACf66
— Tim Rogers (@TheTimRogers) March 7, 2021
New Cincinnati Bengals uniforms have reportedly leaked. pic.twitter.com/hnVM6sAlHH
— NFL Fashion Advice (@fashion_nfl) March 7, 2021
MORE: Nike's NFL uniform designs, ranked
The uniforms seem a bit simplified, with shoulder tiger stripes on a single solid uniform, with the name "Paul Brown" inscribed on the inside of the collar, the famed owner/founder of the team. The uniforms also have less of a shadow effect on the numbers, opting for a plain border around the digits instead. In all, they're fine, if the design is legitimate.
While the stripes are a new-ish look, many have compared the colors to the Bears uniforms, which share a similar orange tint. Some fans were pining for the Bengals' "Color Rush" variant of the uniform, which were mostly solid white with shoulder stripes similar to their primary uniforms, but the singular, dominant color worked better than the shoulder-pad color the Bengals currently have.
Nike's attempts at uniform redesigns have been polarizing at best and epic failures at worst, with the Seahawks and Chargers topping the list of good designs and the Buccaneers and Jaguars bringing up the rear.
Teams are allowed to change uniform designs once every five years, so expect more teams to get in on the Nike uniforms in coming seasons, with six teams getting new looks before the 2020 season.
