The New England Patriots never were considering a radical uniform overhaul. But they did have some tweaks in mind that might have been elicited a better fan reaction than the final product.
Paul Lukas over at Uni Watch, one of the internet’s foremost authorities on uniform-related matters, on Thursday shared an early draft of the Patriots’ style guide sheet that features some notable changes to New England’s recently unveiled home set.
Lukas said he received the mock-up from a “trusted source” and that it was created last October.
The most notable difference here is the inclusion of a silver/gray pant option. The Patriots’ final uniform set puzzlingly included just one pair of blue pants, preventing them from wearing anything other than all blue at home.
This prototype also features TV numbers on the sleeves of the home jersey, but not on the white away jersey. The Patriots, as Lukas pointed out shortly after the official unveiling, are the first team since the 1979 Cincinnati Bengals not to wear TV numbers on their primary jerseys.
The blue jerseys with sleeve numbers look a bit too Houston Texan-y for our liking, but gray, white or even red pants would have been a welcome addition.
