Cincinnati is making a new leaf, and from the front of the jungle emerges a new Bengal.
The Bengals released their new uniforms on Monday morning, completing a process the group has teased for months after wearing a similar set since 2004.
“Our fans have wanted new uniforms for many years, and today represents the start of an exciting new era in Bengals history,” Bengals director of strategy and engagement Elizabeth Blackburn said in a statement. “Our new uniforms are bold, sleek and iconic. We designed them to be recognizable and timeless, like the Bengals helmet.”
The new uniforms follow a new pattern in design across the NFL, with numerous franchises doing without busier looks for cleaner, more straightforward sets. The Bengals have discarded features that were prominent in the first decade of the new century, ditching colored shoulder yokes, side panels and outlined nameplates for a toned-down appearance that leaves the group’s trademark stripes as its most prominent feature.
The home black jersey features three orange Bengal stripes on each shoulder, with white, rounded numbers outlined in orange featuring sharp edges planned to mimic the architecture of the team’s home, Paul Brown Stadium. The orange jersey, apparently to be utilized as the alternate top as the Bengals have done since their 2004 update, follows a similar pattern, utilizing black stripes on the shoulders and white numbers with black outline. These jerseys can be worn with one or the other white or black pants, giving Cincinnati options for when it needs to wear its alternate jersey. Every jersey displays the team’s Bengals nickname on the chest below the collar and above the numbers, replacing its striped B logo that had been worn in a similar spot since 2004.
The road uniform is the main change, and demonstrates the group’s open ear to its fans’ desires. In the wake of rolling out an all-white Color Rush alternate set in 2016, Cincinnati’s supporters quickly scooped up the alternate white top, which included dark shoulder stripes like the new look and black, block-font numerals. The pared-down approach resonated with fans, and Cincinnati has made the refreshed adaptation of it a critical piece of its new look, which likewise shows the team’s Bengals nickname on the chest in orange and will be combined with their pair of white jeans with coordinating with black stripes down the side of the jeans.
In a interesting approach, Cincinnati has picked three sets of pants, yet two with a similar base color of white. While the white pants with black stripes can be combined with the white top to make a clean, smooth set that stands as an evolution of the famous Color Rush uniform, the group additionally introduced a pair of white pants with orange stripes that can be utilized with the home black jersey and the alternate orange top.
Another combination follows Cincinnati’s occasional decision to go with a monochrome look and could arise as another top pick of fans. Displayed by edge rusher Sam Hubbard, the Bengals delivered an all-black uniform that incorporates the black top with orange stripes and black jeans with matching orange stripes. The white shirt can likewise be worn with the black orange jeans, making an unmistakable difference that popped when demonstrated by running back Joe Mixon for the group’s special photograph shoot.
While apparently making a uniform blending that can just independent in the white top and white pants with black stripes, Cincinnati additionally released photos of players wearing the black tops with the white-black pants, making a black-dominant look that is unquestionably sharp. Moreover, the white-orange pants work flawlessly with the orange top, giving the Bengals a capability of seven uniform blends, all to be worn with the group’s extraordinary striped helmet.
That is the lone piece of the uniform that stays unchanged. The rest is a streamlined, cleaner look that depends in the team’s stripes as its most dominant feature.
The Bengals started their participation in the NFL in 1970 with a style that was purposefully natural when proprietor Paul Brown thumbed his nose at the group bearing his name up north by dressing his new squad in similarly simple duds. Rather than wearing the five-stripe sleeve pattern alternating between brown and orange worn by the Cleveland Browns, the expansion Bengals wore three stripes alternating between black and orange. The helmets were similarly orange and plain, though Brown’s new club didn’t wear a stripe, instead slapping BENGALS across the sides of the helmets. The list went on, and keeping in mind that the regalia didn’t keep going forever, Brown’s heritage stays with his unique sewed inside the neckline of each Bengal’s new jersey.
Following a time of simplicity, the Bengals became intentionally unique, first covering their helmets in their now-trademark stripes and slapping those same stripes on their shoulders and pants in 1981. The stripes have stayed in some limit from that point forward, and with a craving to modernize while likewise improving, they’re again the main feature in a uniform that ought to immediately get mainstream with the individuals who spend their Sundays reciting “who dey!”
The Bengals kept their traditional nickname wordmark, showed across the chest of their uniforms, just as their striped B logo, while pairing the uniforms with sock options of solid-colored orange, black or white. The rest, however, is improved. With the arrival of establishment quarterback Joe Burrow from ACL medical procedure – his fresh scar from the operation could be found in shots of him sitting atop a stone throne encompassed by foliage creating a jungle scene – expected this fall, the new leaf appears to be encouraging, and in these new duds, potentially beautiful.
