There have been several hints that the Browns are bringing back their white facemasks, with the official announcement reportedly coming tomorrow, April 17. Now a former Browns player appears to have let the cat out of the bag a day early.
In the now-deleted tweet this morning (shown above), former Browns star Eric Metcalf shared photos of a white-facemasked helmet that the team apparently sent him.
In addition to the white mask, the helmet appears to mark a return to a full glossy finish. It also seems to be a brighter orange than the team has been using lately, although that might just be the lighting.
As you can see, the box shows several iterations of the team’s “our logo is a helmet” logo, but with a white mask instead of the brown-masked version that’s been used in recent years. So, as expected, the change in mask colors will bring a corresponding change to the team’s primary logo.
The Browns went with white masks for one game last season — a Nov. 19 home game against the Steelers. The reactions (including from Uni Watch HQ) were generally positive, so I think the full-time switch to white will be well received.
It’s not yet clear whether the team’s white alternate helmet, which debuted last year with a brown mask, will also be making the switch to a white cage, but we’ll presumably find out when the official announcement comes tomorrow.
(My thanks to reader/commenter Jon D. and our own Alex Hider for bringing Metcalf’s tweet to my attention.)
Why the hell would the Browns mail a player a helmet? And why didn’t they put a note inside the box telling them to not post about it? This one’s on the Browns.
Why the hell would the Browns mail a player a helmet? And why didn’t they put a note inside the box telling them to not post about it?
He’s probably a team “ambassador,” or some such. And for all we know, maybe they *did* tell him not to post about it and he just fucked up.
I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I’ve also never put it past a team to have someone ‘leak’ info so they can use the reactions to either adjust the true reveal or to hype the scheduled event.
Which means, actually, that you *are* a conspiracy theorist.
Grrrr…..meant to put ‘not usually’.
I shall go face the corner and hang my head in shame.
I’m with Shaftman here… having worked in marketing and advertising, a “leak” that’s possibly intentional is going to garner a lot of attention that a standard PR announcement might not attract.
He’s an icon in franchise history and this is the helmet design he wore on the field. I’m sure they sent it to a handful of guys from that era to post during/after the announcement and he just messed up the timing. A lot of franchises and colleges do “swag boxes” like this for former players to help promote the team (and it’s a nice little gift for them)
Welp, I guess you can add “icon in franchise history” to the list of things that aren’t what they used to be.
Eric Metcalf is most definitely an icon in Browns history!
How is Metcalf not an icon to Browns fans? Pro bowler, All-Pro, Browns Legends inductee, NFL HoF nominee, best returner in the game those years, and for many fans of the 80s/90s teams had one of the most iconic performances of the era with his 2 return TDs to beat Pittsburgh in ‘93.
Here’s a list of every player in *NFL history* with more punt return TDs than Eric Metcalf…
Devin Hester
That’s it. That’s the list.
I didn’t think a change back to glossy finish was going to happen, but I’m glad it did. Something about glossy helmets, especially when TV made the jump to HD, looks really good.
SO glad!
Agree. I don’t hate matte helmets, but the glossy says NFL to me.
As a native Clevelander and lifelong Browns fan, I am pleading with the team to finally get an imagination. The facemask debate is neither here nor there for me, but I am so tired of the logo — in 2024! — being the same boilerplate helmet drawing that *every* team used in the 80s and 90s. We have an elf, which speaks to championship tradition and (considering his history with the logo) is a bit of an f-you to Art Modell’s legacy. A bull mastiff dawg logo, which I prefer, would be perhaps the only mascot in modern pro sports to emerge organically from a fan tradition. And yet, we’re stuck with this. At least update the drawing of the helmet and make it more dynamic!
I agree with what you’re saying. I think they should bring back the old Brownie the Elf logo as the primary logo, considering that Art Modell was the one who changed that logo into a generic helmet.
I see your side, but I disagree. The lack of a non-helmet logo is unique – why adopt a logo and be just like the other 31 teams when you can eschew that convention and stand out? I also wish the Commanders had kept the Washington Football Team as their name – while it was laughed at as being unoriginal by some, I thought it stood out.
I wonder if/when they’ll update the logo to better reflect modern helmets.
I’ve thought the smartest move would be going the opposite direction – just make it a retro single or dual bar side profile like they use in some throwback gear. That way it’s fully distinct from modern templates.
Being fair, this design is about 20+ years old now so it’s become retro, but adjusting to keep up with tech means you’re always a step behind
I agree with you, Joe – if youre going the helmet route, go with something that people will instantly recognize as old school. Instead, they go with what looks like a Riddell Speed for the helmet they sent out (not recommended for the field as of this year) and what looks like a VSR4 for the logo (banned in 2018), which both feel recent enough to be right on the line of retro and simply being outdated.
Agreed, retro can look timeless. A modern helmet would look dated in a few years.
How? With a logo that’s an embroidered patch?
The Browns need a helmet logo, I am sorry. Be it the Brownie, be it the Dawg, be it the interlocking CB that Chris designed. But the helmet as the logo thing should be sent into retirement.
Or at least just make the primary logo something other than the helmet.
I’m glad they are going gloss finish. I’m so tired of the matte finish trend. Looks Bush League to me.
A lot of work to have to change your primary logo when you want to change the mask colour. That’s what happens when your team logo is the helmet.
I always have been for the Browns adopting this as their primary logo rather than their helmet. Of course, the logo would not appear on the uniform at all:
link
The B Logo would look especially good on the white helmet.