The Denver Broncos are making several changes for 2024. Russell Wilson is gone, incurring a league record $85 million dead salary cap hit in the process. A new quarterback may be on the way, as Sean Payton hinted he’s amenable to trading up in the first round of this year’s draft to find someone to split reps with, phew, current QB1 Jarrett Stidham.
Justin Simmons is gone. So is Jerry Jeudy. And since this team may not win many games this fall — seriously, this is a multi-year teardown — Denver’s front office needs to find ways to keep its fans invested. That started Monday with an easy lob; teasing new uniforms.
New threads 🔜👀🪡 pic.twitter.com/jRS8r17Nhu
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) March 25, 2024
Here’s the problem with that. The Broncos already have great uniforms. They’re just 40 years old and tied to an era where losing Super Bowls was the proudest tradition they could bring to Colorado. Just look at how dang good these 1980s-era Orange Crush kits were:
The old logo? A perfect balance between kitsch and menace. The orange and blue are perfect complements, balanced by bold block numbers encased in easy to read outlines. There’s no drop shadow here, no gradient, no tapered lines. Just a thin sleeve stripe and a fat leg one. This is the uniform Denver is forever chasing.
They’ve teased a return in the past, but never gotten quite there. Their mid-2000s throwbacks turned back the clock to cartoon horses, vertically striped socks and an array of mustard colors. It was bad, but especially so when they faced teams that embraced their great sartorial roots.
When NFL rules allowed teams to use multiple helmets over the course of a season again in 2022, it gave the Broncos an opportunity to bring back its block D. And the team obliged… on top of a Color Rush-ed out uniform that’s so, so close to getting it right:
It’s got elements of what the Broncos’ proper uniforms should be, just with the dialed turned in the wrong direction. The white helmet is a nice touch, but the blue is a shade too dark. And the orange, well… it’s everywhere.
That’s not Denver’s full time kit, just a thrice-yearly special addition. It looks as though this year’s uniforms will once again revolve around the swooping, demon-eyed horse head that arrived in 1997 and has remained untouched since then. Maybe the full uniform reveal will debut a uniform that bridges the gap between the 1980s and 2020s with a subtle mix of old and new, giving the Broncos the chance to look good on the field before they look very bad on the field (their presumptive starting quarterback is, again, Jarrett Stidham).
But that’s a lot of work and a hard target to hit. You know what would be easier? Bringing back the nearly perfect throwback uniforms that have been lingering in the bowels of Mile High Stadium for three decades.
