The Detroit Lions revealed their new uniforms that they'll begin using in the 2024 season, including an alternate uniform that features a black jersey, blue helmet with black Lions logos and either blue or black pants.
The alternate uniform has been mostly well-received, and even Lions great and Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson is a big fan, with Johnson going as far as to say the team should wear them for every home game.
“All I got to say is, I am going to start a petition so we can wear these bad boys every home game,” Johnson said, per Brandon Carr and Mara MacDonald of ClickOnDetroit.com. “The jersey is reminiscent of the Reebok ones we wore back in the day. They’re bringing back the blocked numbers but in a new, fresh, modern style.”
On Saturday, the Lions posted a video showing us the process behind the making of the helmet for the alternate uniform, which you can check out below.
A black and blue helmet for the champs of the black and blue division.
— Riddell Sports (@RiddellSports) April 20, 2024
This is how we built the @Lions Motor City Muscle #OnFieldAlt helmets. pic.twitter.com/lcDPWRlxAL
If you love the new alternate, you can thank head coach Dan Campbell, who lobbied for the return of black jerseys a few years back.
“So we’re in the draft room, literally months into (Campbell's) tenure and he wore the black when he was here and we’re in the draft room, he said, ‘Hey Rod, when can we get the black jerseys back?’” Wood revealed, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “And I said, ‘I’ll make a deal. When you win the division, I’ll bring the black jerseys back.’ And so I went out on a limb and thankfully he delivered. That’s a true story.”
The Lions haven't worn a black alternate jersey since the 2007 season, so it has been a long time coming. It'll be interesting to see how often the Lions utilize the new threads in 2024.
