The Cowboys’ usual practice of sporting throwback uniforms for their annual Thanksgiving game has gotten the ax this season due to new NFL safety regulations.
A new league rule limits teams to one helmet per season, forcing teams like Dallas and Tampa Bay to scrap their alternate uniform sets. Other squads, however, including the Steelers and Redskins, have been able to work around this rule this season by pairing their throwback uniforms with their everyday helmets.
Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones said Tuesday that the ban on specialty helmets may not be permanent, but that Dallas will respect the NFL’s judgment in the meantime.
“I think everything is about putting players’ safety first and foremost,” Jones told DallasCowboys.com. “I don’t know if it’s a given that moving one helmet to another is an issue, but we haven’t proven that it’s not either. But we’re always going to err on the side of safety. It’s going to give us a new look this year, but sometimes there’s nothing wrong with that either. We’ll continue to look at that. It doesn’t mean you won’t see alternative helmets in the future. It’s just we want to make sure right now that we always err on the side of players’ safety until we’ve really dotted our i’s and crossed our t’s.”
Though they are unable to wear their traditional alternates, the Cowboys announced that they will wear their blue away uniforms at home Thursday against the Raiders — the first time they have done so since the early 1970s.
