Detroit Lions: What’s the future for the Color Rush uniforms?

Now that the Detroit Lions’ Color Rush game has come and gone, what does the future hold for the team’s new all-gray uniforms?

The Detroit Lions got out of having to wear their all-black Color Rush jerseys last year because they did not appear on Thursday Night Football. It seems that was more likely a convenient excuse because the Lions also don’t have a Thursday nighter this season but made a point to wear their new all-gray Color Rush uniforms anyway.

With the Lions’ Color Rush unis back on the hangers, it’s time to wonder, what does the future hold for that look? It’s a question that got more interesting over the course of the season for a couple reasons. First, the Washington Redskins were able to successful eschew their all-yellow Color Rush uniforms when the league relaxed their Color Rush rules. From Pro Football Talk:

"The NFL says that teams have gotten “more flexibility” when it comes to the Color Rush program. Basically, they can ditch the predetermined uniforms as long as they choose matching jerseys and pants from their normal color schemes."

This ruling takes on some meaning for the Lions now that their road set includes blue pants. In fact, we saw the all-blue look before the all-gray ever hit the field. The Lions mixed the road pants with the home jerseys to make an all-blue uniform for their late October Sunday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Put in a future spot in the schedule where the NFL expects the Lions to wear a Color Rush uniform, the team theoretically now has a choice between going with the gray or the blue look.

Fans who bought a Color Rush jersey and are suddenly feeling nervous probably don’t have a lot to worry about. The fact that the Color Rush was included in the overall uniform unveil by the team probably speaks to the organization liking the look as part of their collection beyond just being a program forced upon them by the league. It also helps that the look has been popular with fans.

Justin Rogers put up a super scientific poll on Saturday asking fans if they like the Lions’ new Color Rush look. “Yes” was the overwhelming winner by about a three-to-one margin.

That’s not really a surprise given the initial reaction to the all-gray Color Rush was generally positive when it was included in the new uniform unveiling over the offseason. It also seemed to be a big seller among fans. I was surprised how many Color Rush jerseys I saw fan wearing when I was at training camp. The new regular home blue was clearly most popular among new jersey purchasers but there appeared to be more Color Rush jerseys worn by fans than road and throwback versions combined.

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If I had to bet, I’d say we see all the uniforms and combinations we saw this season again next season – including the all-blue and all-gray looks. For better or worse, the Lions’ current uniform set brings the team into the present and there isn’t any reason to believe they will look to cut back the looks next year.