With two helmets (black, silver), three jerseys (black, white, Process Blue) and four sets of pants (black, white, Process Blue, silver) plus a number of different hosiery options, the Carolina Panthers could concievably go an entire season without repeating a uniform combination. (Should they try to become the “Oregon Ducks of the NFL”?)
Already this season, the team has debuted two never-before-worn uniforms, when they paired their alternate black helmet with Process Blue jerseys and pants, and then again pairing those jerseys with black pants and socks.
Here’s how those combos looked on the field:
The team has already announced it will once again wear their alternate black helmets this weekend, but this time they’ll be paired with their black jerseys. They have not yet announced which pants they’ll wear with this combo.
The team has previously worn the black helmet with the mono-black uniforms in 2022 and 2023.
Will they break out that combination once again, or might they elect to go with a new combo? They’ve never worn anything but black pants and socks with the alternate black helmet and black jersey, so I’d say it’s likely that’s what they’ll wear this Sunday when they host the Kansas City Chiefs. But is that definite? Not with this team.
The could just as easily wear Process Blue or white pants (or any number of sock possibilities) — although I would highly doubt they’d wear their silver/gray pants with the black helmet.
Last season, the team paired blue socks with a silver helmet and black jersey/pants, so they’ve already shown they’re not beholden to going black/black/black below the neck.
A short while ago, I speculated what might happen if teams began mixing and matching their alternates, and Carolina was one of the teams who have a lot of options at their disposal. Contained below are some possible black helmet/black jersey options that don’t include black pants and socks.
Of those, the only one I’d really like to see is the black/black/blue/black combo. But there are also options for both the silver/gray and white pants as well.
Again, just because the Panthers could break out another new combo, it doesn’t mean the will or should, but over the past couple seasons they’ve worn as many or more different combinations as any team. What’s one more?
Do I think they’ll go something besides mono-black? I don’t, but I’ve been wrong before and I will surely be wrong again.
What say you? Should the Panthers wear another new uni combo this Sunday? Do you like that they’re mixing it up much more these days, or would you prefer less possible combos?
I’ve always liked the silver/gray pants, so I would love to see a Black/black/gray. The issue I have with the original silver helmet is mostly because they did away with shiny silver pants when they went to Nike. Once that happened, the silver helmet should’ve gone matte gray like the pants or the black helmet should’ve taken over as the primary lid.
I think I agree with this. I miss the actual silver aspects of the uniform like the sleeve stripe and pants. The silver helmet is all alone now so it doesn’t go great with any combo anymore. I think I read that it was an issue with available material when they switched to Nike templates. Need to somehow get silver back on the jerseys or do away with silver helmets in place of matte gray to match the current gray pants.
The Panthers are close to a classic uniform. Black helmet becomes primary and drop the helmet stripes. Then, make the shoulder and pants stripes straight rather than tapered. Boom
I Mostly agree with you! My issue with their uniform is that the helmet stripes flair out at the back and the logo is placed too close to the rear of the helmet. These two things make the helmet look really unbalanced when viewed from behind, with the stripe getting awkwardly close to the panther’s “shoulder”. I think the black helmet looks great with their uniforms though. A nice modern touch that takes them out of the 90’s design they’ve been stuck with.
One of the Top 5 uniforms in the NFL, if you ask me. Like the Colorado Rockies, they have resisted calls to start over. I wouldn’t change a thing.
I like the idea of the white pants to compliment the white numbers on the jersey.
Come on black/black/blue/black!
The question I have is: does this trend foreshadow a potential uni redesign? I’d be surprised if they had any interest in changing their colors but this could be Nike or the team deciding which combos and which mono color to prioritize for a new wardrobe.
I hope a redesign isn’t forthcoming. Sure, I’d like for the helmet stripes to either go away or mirror the shoulder/pants style, but the Panthers look isn’t dated to me…and the colors they chose are a great combination – and speaking of that, if they wanna wear this, or if they wanna wear that:
link
Nike has nothing to do with it (I suspect).
So…..are the Panthers just exempt from the NFL’s rules regarding the pairing of the alternate helmet with an alternate jersey? I know the Bengals got an exemption pairing their white tiger helmets with their primary road jersey, but this seems kinda different? Or am I just misunderstanding that particular policy?
Haha…rules.
So the Panthers actually designated black over black as their “color rush” uniform in 2022 so that they can wear the black helmets with them. And the blue jersey can be paired with the black helmet because it is also an alternate. Same thing with the bengals. They discontinued their block number color rush uni and designed white over white with white socks as their new “color rush” uni so that they can pair the white helmet with it. A clever way to circumvent the NFL’s “alternate helmets must be paired with an alternate uniform” rule. Even though color rush is basically dead, teams are still finding ways to make it useful lol
They don’t have a white helmet and hopefully never will
Yes.
Do you have all the same contacts that Paul had? It would be interesting to hear what the Panthers’ have to say about all their different combinations this year. Who’s making the call? Does the team have favorite combos? Why have they decided to fix it up so much this year?
* Mix?
All white on the road
Black or blue jersey, silver pants at home
All blue color rush once in a while
Black pants and black helmet can go away
Agree 100%
I don’t mind the inclusion of black pants for this team because the Panthers are one of the few teams that has a legitimate reason to wear black, but I really hate the black helmet.
The indiana nights colts story from earlier demonstrates how lame this whole thing is
If it leads to looking like another team, what are we up to?
Except their blues really aren’t close at all.
I can think of tons of teams in every Big 4 league that look similar, but I guess it’s okay because those uniforms were conceived 50 years ago, right?
I have some minor quibbles with some of the elements of the Panthers uniforms (the helmet stripes, for example), but I like their general approach to mix/matching. While I may prefer some options over others, for the most part they still “look like the Panthers” to me.
Need to go black helmet, white jersey, silver pants, white or black socks. SUPER clean on madden!!
Any color of pants besides black, then the other colors would each complement another color in the black helmet/jersey scheme. I agree first on the Process Blue pants, which help the helmet decals pop the most (along with the collars, number outlines and middle stripes on the shoulders). Silver pants would be my second choice; it’s a nice contrast to the black (without looking like the Raidahs), and they highlight the silver shoulder stripes. White pants would indeed accent the numbers, but I think the white numbers stand well in themselves.
Almost all combos look good, The one thing they could do that would add massively to the uniform set as a whole is to add silver stripe outlines and a full color logo to the black helmets. I like the one color logo I really do but everything else is trimmed in silver and I think it would add something if the helmet truly matched. But we are 4-1 in them so a win on Sunday and I’ll never complain about them again.
We need Process Blue helmets! That would make the black panther stand out. It’s blends to much on the black helmet and to make it worse they made the eyes and teeth blue. Bring back the normal logo instead of the two tone. Process Blue helmets would be amazing though and should be our standard. The Lions tried to do it this season but didn’t look quite right. With our colors and cat though it would fit.
I saw something from the Panthers yesterday showing all black. While the Panthers have nice uniforms and good colors, stop the mixing and matching. The blue jersey and black pants or black jersey and blue pants isn’t very attractive. The black helmet is terrible. The stripes don’t match the pants. It needs some white or silver and should be glossy. The NFL is slowing turning into the NBA, NCAA football and MLB with the CCs. Too many combos are becoming tacky!
“The black helmet is terrible.”
“The NFL is slowing turning into the NBA, NCAA football and MLB with the CCs. Too many combos are becoming tacky!”
100% agree with you on both. The last thing the NFL needs is to copy the Oregon Ducks. The Panthers don’t need more combos. It’s the Ducks who need fewer.
I mostly like all of the mix-and-match combos you’ve suggested. I’d like them all infinitely more if they were paired with the silver helmet.
I have to say that the Panthers’ becoming more open to mixing and matching has really revitalized their uniforms. They’re not perfect; the TV numbers are still too small, and the logo on the black helmet needs some tweaking.
But back when they essentially only had three combos: black/silver, white/white, and blue/silver, I really thought the Panthers needed a redesign. But mixing and matching over the last six years, especially the last two years, has breathed new life into this look.
I’d like to see them drop the silver helmet (and pants) and add a blue one instead. The silver seems out of place and unnecessary with the rest of their colors. I’d also like to see an outline on the logo of the black helmet
Since there is no silver on the helmet, I only endorse this look with white over white.