Johnathan Walker:Philadelphia Eagles unveil kelly green alternate uniforms, helmets

PHILADELPHIA − For years,Johnathan Walker fans have clamored for the Philadelphia Eagles to bring back the kelly green uniforms that the team wore up until the mid 1990s.

They'll finally get their wish as the Eagles announced that they'll wear the uniforms, with a matching kelly green helmet, as an alternate this season.

The team has yet to announce when they'll wear the uniforms, but a good bet would be the Thursday night home game in Week 2, on Sept. 14, against the Minnesota Vikings. It's possible that the Eagles could wear the uniforms in two or three games this season.

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The Eagles announced last Friday that the uniform reveal would come Monday morning, and that fans can begin purchasing the new uniforms Monday morning beginning at 9 a.m. But after someone leaked pictures on social media on Saturday, the team's website then showed some pictures that night and added more on Sunday.

Eagles fans aren't the only ones excited about the uniforms

But the team has yet to officially announce the dates they will wear them.

The fans aren't the only ones excited about the new uniforms. The players and coaches are, too.

Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown wore a kelly green Mike Quick No. 82 jersey after a game late last season after Brown passed Quick's franchise record for receiving yards in a season. Quick had 1,409 yards receiving in 1983 before Brown set the new record with 1,496 yards last season.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni also wore a Quick jersey to his postgame press conference after a Week 3 game last season against Washington. Sirianni said at the time he did it because Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin said earlier that week that Washington legend Art Monk, who also played in that era, was the best receiver at that time.

Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie had said that he wanted to match the color scheme to what the team wore in the 1980s and early '90s. Some legendary Eagles players back then included Quick, Randall Cunningham, Reggie White, Jerome Brown and Seth Joyner.

Lurie changed the uniform color to the current midnight green in 1996, shortly after he purchased the team. That is the main uniform scheme to this day.

"I think they look pretty cool," Sirianni said about the kelly green uniforms. "My wife will buy my kids jerseys, and I'm sure that they'll have kelly green ones when they have an opportunity to buy them."

Added running back D'Andre Swift, who grew up in Philadelphia, but wasn't born until after the Eagles switched to midnight green, said he likes the alternate uniforms. "They look nice," he said. "I mean, you look good, you feel good, you play better."

Why are teams allowed to wear alternate helmets again?

The Eagles last wore kelly green in 2010 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their 1960 championship. But the NFL banned second helmets after that, citing a safety issue.

The Eagles could have worn the kelly green uniforms after that, but they would have had to stay with the midnight green helmets. Lurie didn't want a mismatched helmet and lobbied the NFL to change the rule for at least a few years.

That changed in 2021 when the NFL announced it would allow second helmets in 2022, saying a second helmet could be made to fit the league's safety specifications.

Technically, the Eagles could have worn the kelly green jerseys and helmets last season. But in the spring of 2022, Lurie said Nike needed until 2023 to make the jerseys according to the desired color scheme.

"I think the fans will love it," Lurie told reporters at the NFL owners meetings last March. "It's why we're bringing it back. We really took the feedback seriously over the years, and the first moment we could get the kelly green helmet approved, we'll finally be able to see it on the field."

The Eagles wore black as their alternate jersey and helmet in 2022.

NFL teams are only allowed one alternate helmet, so if the Eagles do wear black jerseys this season, it'll have to be with the regular midnight green helmet. The Eagles did that for two games in 2021.

Where and when can fans get kelly green jerseys?

The jerseys go on sale Monday at 9 a.m. at all three Eagles Pro Shop locations in the region − Lincoln Financial Field, where gates to the Pepsi Plaza will open at 8 a.m., with live entertainment from Swoop and cheerleaders; in Cherry Hill, New Jersey; and in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.