The Detroit Lions appear to have their next alternate look out in the wild.
A photo that surfaced Tuesday on the Fox News website showed what is believed to be the team’s new “Rivalries” uniform, the design set to debut Nov. 1 against the Minnesota Vikings. The new jersey is part of the Lions’ 2026 NFL season rotation.
Earlier this offseason, team president Rod Wood talked through the rollout with Brad Galli and described how the look came together with Nike.
“I’m pretty excited about them. They’re kind of consistent with our colors and our look, but with a modern twist that I think the fans are going to like," Wood said.
"That was a process that we went through over several years with Nike. Telling them what we would be interested in, they’d come back with a version.
We’d push back, and it’d go back and forth. We settled on one that I think everyone’s gonna like.”
The Rivalries uniforms are tied to a broader NFL, Nike and Fanatics partnership that is giving every team a new uniform over a four-year stretch, alongside its existing sets. The rollout started last year with the NFC West and AFC East.
This season, the focus shifts to the NFC North and AFC South. Along with Detroit, the new looks for the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars were also revealed Tuesday.
When the concept was first announced before last season, the league said in a release, "The program will elevate NFL rivalry games over the next four seasons, with specially designed Nike uniforms and fan gear," read a press release from the NFL when the concept was first announced prior to last season. "Rivalries will drive fan engagement by celebrating storied traditions and uniting communities with unique and elevated product designs."
Detroit already went through a uniform refresh before the 2024 season as part of its rebrand. That move brought back the black jerseys from the early 2000s, packaged as the “Motor City Muscle” uniforms, and gave the team a new mix with its Honolulu blue home set and road whites.
The Lions also previously used a gray uniform for Color Rush games. That gray look stayed in the rotation until the rebrand, when it was replaced by the black uniform.
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