The New Orleans Saints unveiled new helmets on Thursday and they’ve drawn some very mixed reactions around the NFL world.
The NFL franchise showcased these new helmets on social media on Thursday afternoon, showing a number of pictures, including some with star defensive end Cameron Jordan debuting news jerseys for next season.
First Look 👀#Saints pic.twitter.com/QKMYdNru5Y
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 16, 2022
CAMMMMMM 💪@camjordan94 in our black helmet 🔥 pic.twitter.com/a3jFI9vA6u
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 16, 2022
Jordan seems to be pretty excited about the new gear, commenting on the pictures with the captions reading “Oh laaaawd we got swag it out.”
Oh laaaawd we gon swag it out https://t.co/qlfRkgEMAp
— Cam Jordan (@camjordan94) June 16, 2022
Not everyone was excited about the new designs, especially when it comes to the helmets, with many criticizing the change from the typical gold helmets that the team is used to wearing.
Looks like napkin/plate combo pack from Party City pic.twitter.com/VSQLWXGoYw
— Logan (@ButsonLogan) June 16, 2022
They look like a high school team who are trying to emulate the Saints
— Morgan Beard (@morganbeard) June 16, 2022
us: just make the throwbacks/color rush permanent already. They’re the best jerseys in the NFL.
Saints: Here’s a create-a-team helmet
— Chris Branch (@cbranch89) June 16, 2022
The Saints' throwbacks might be the best uniforms in the NFL, and the worst possible uniform to pair with a black helmet with modern striping. Gross. https://t.co/RC8Q3hErzd
— David P. Woods (@davidpwoods) June 16, 2022
Others are more optimistic about the helmets and are looking forward to when the Saints wear them in action.
These are clean. Wow. #Saints pic.twitter.com/N1TQUkFcsD
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) June 16, 2022
This is pretty 🔥🔥 https://t.co/MmU6ES5n6j
— Antwan V. Staley (@antwanstaley) June 16, 2022
Can not wait to see these in action! #WhoDat https://t.co/LrzfWfCDsj
— Thomas Pears IV (@Tommy_Bahama97) June 16, 2022
While the black helmets are certainly not something that most fans are used to from the Saints, they did wear black helmets once upon a time. The franchise actually wore similar helmets in the 1969 preseason but swapped them out for gold helmets during the regular season.
This season won’t be he first time the #Saints wear a black helmet. They wore this look in the 1969 preseason but didn’t have permission from the NFL, so they were forced to go back to their gold ones. pic.twitter.com/4cDmWQiGh7
— Dan Beyer (@danbeyeronfox) June 16, 2022
It’s unclear which games or how many games the Saints will be using these helmets, but it will surely be weird to see them without their typical gold helmets. We’ll see if they grow on NFL fans or remain a strange look for New Orleans.