By Nick Shook, Around The NFL Writer
The Summer of Helmets raged on Friday with a trio of newly revealed headgear options for three NFL teams.
Last but not least in this trifecta were the Philadelphia Eagles, who sent their fans into a euphoric tizzy with the debut of their alternate, black helmets.
The new lid marks the Eagles’ first alternate helmet since 2010.
Paint it black#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/9FPwyQ9fSR
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 22, 2022
The helmet can be explained rather simply: Philadelphia replaced its midnight green shell with a black, metallic flake shell. The rest of the helmet — facemask and dual wings decals — remain the same.
Like the other teams who have debuted black alternate lids this offseason — the Panthers, Jets, Commanders and Saints — Philadelphia has a reason to introduce a dark shell: The Eagles’ uniforms include an all-black set that matches the new helmet.
The Eagles have had a black jersey since 2003, a product of the league encouraging teams to adopt third jerseys in the earliest years of the century. They typically paired the jersey with either their midnight green or white pants, and it wasn’t until the Color Rush movement of the last decade that black pants – now the most frequent pairing with the black jersey — became available.
Nearly 20 years after first introducing the black top, the ensemble is finally complete.