The Jacksonville Jaguars have been one of the worst teams in the NFL over the past few years, but a new jersey released on Tuesday may help fans forget about that, as the franchise offered a stark and modern new look to their uniforms.
According to Yahoo Sports, the team and Nike unveiled the uniforms on Tuesday and said that the team will use a new logo, helmet and main jersey for the 2013 season. The company has worked on two teams so far since signing a five year deal with the NFL, as they also helped redesign the Seattle Seahawks jersey scheme. Owner Shad Khan praised the new jerseys and said that is shows how strong the bond is between the team and the city.
The jersey has a "military-style badge" on it that says JAGS in honor of the city being the third-largest military training site in the country and the helmets are newly designed with the new logo. The helmet has gold and black, while the turquoise green color is less dominant for the black on the jerseys. The new logo that the team debuted earlier in the year had a sleeker jaguar with sharper teeth as well as different color scheme. The change to the helmets is the first since the team joined the NFL as an expansion franchise.
The team went just 2-14 last season and Khan is hoping that the jerseys will be better than the Tim Tebow trade that many fans wanted, as the franchise did not seem interested. The team hired new coach Gus Bradley and despite being one of the worst teams in the league last season, there is some hope in Florida as the team has the number two pick in the draft.
There have been rumblings that they want to trade out, but chances are they will stand pat and select one of many star players, including Sharrif Floyd, Dee Milliner and Geno Smith, who could be the quarterback of the future over Blaine Gabbert. Floyd played at Florida and Milliner appears to be the best corner in the draft, which is something Jacksonville desperately needs.
"This a jaguar on the hunt," Todd Van Horne, Nike's vice president and creative director for football, said of the team's new look.