Football is back. And the start of a new NFL season brings some new uniforms with a number of teams unveiling throwback and alternate threads they will don during the year once the action kicks off just weeks from now.

A few teams revealed full new uniforms for select games in the 2025 season, while others solely designed new helmets to rock on special occasions. Some new looks are designed to honor the team's roots and others provide a new twist on a classic look.

Last year, the league boosted the maximum number of helmet designs from two to three, which allows teams to flex their creativity with new options they weren't able to touch in the past. That gives teams the option to provide fans with nostalgic looks they have long clamored for and even the flexibility to take a bold, all-new approach in some cases.

With any new on-field design, some teams executed their plan better than others. Here is each new alternate helmet fans will see on NFL fields in the upcoming season, ranked from worst to best:

7. Green Bay Packers

The Packers threw it all the way back to over a century ago for their new alternate uniform and helmets. The new helmets are hand painted to look like old leather helmets from back in the day, similar to those the Illinois Fighting Illini donned last year. Points for the effort but now that leather helmets don't have a functional purpose, what's the point? A differently designed helmet would've taken the Packers' new classic uniform a long way.

6. Pittsburgh Steelers

For Pittsburgh's new alternate uniforms, they tossed it back to almost a century ago as well. The throwback jersey is a version of the team's 1933 look with black stripes down the jersey and beige pants. With the helmet design, they flipped their traditional black hat design for a new matte gold look. It's a nice change of pace and ironically, the helmet is the best part of the throwback uniform. But it almost feels wrong for the Steelers to wear anything other than a black helmet.

5. Cleveland Browns

Cleveland's new matte brown helmet design looks a lot better than the big reveal for the new lid went. The helmets, and uniforms to match, are a darker shade of brown compared to the team's traditional colors. But it's a nice alternate look, which the team plans to wear in three games next season. Especially for a team named the Browns.

4. Washington Commanders

Another blast from the past. The Commanders unveiled their "Super Bowl Era" alternates ahead of the season which the team plans to wear three times over their 2025 schedule. It's a nod to the uniforms from the team's Super Bowl winning years in 1982, '87 and '91 with the white and gold stripes down the center of the helmet alongside the new Commanders logo. Washington should consider adjusting to the new helmet design full time.

3. New Orleans Saints

The Saints are mixing it up by ditching their usual gold lids for a new white alternate helmet with a gold and black center stripe that has tiny fleur-de-lis emblems throughout the gold streak. It also has small black speckles across the white main color if you look close enough. A fresh new look when paired with New Orleans' white color rush uniforms.

2. Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers unveiled an all-navy look that they will wear in the upcoming season which brings back all the nostalgia. They are planning to wear the new "Super Chargers" alternates in two games: Week 8 against the Vikings and Week 13 against the Raiders. And once they step onto the field, the uniforms will scream back to the days of LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates.

"I love the navy. That was my favorite one," Gates said when the team revealed the navy uniforms. "And once I saw this new version, I said, 'Yeah, I definitely would have scored a few touchdowns wearing that.' I love that uniform. I wish I could play in it again."

The new navy helmet adds each player's number on the side which could've been left out. But the nod to the past was nicely done.

1. Buffalo Bills

The Bills found an awesome way to celebrate their final regular-season game at Highmark Stadium, bringing back their iconic red helmets that the team wore from 1987 to 2001. They look just as good and maybe even better more than two decades later as Josh Allen showcased during training camp. The only problem is the Bills are only planning to wear them for the one special game, their regular-season finale against the Jets. Maybe that will change if the Bills play at home in the playoffs, providing a perfect opportunity to don the red helmets for the final game at Highmark Stadium before Buffalo opens its new home next year.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ranking the Brand New NFL Alternate Helmets Debuting in 2025.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate