The Tennessee Titans are planning to honor their past by breaking out one of the most iconic uniforms in NFL history this year — and could do so for multiple games.
In a recent Titans mailbag, team writer Jim Wyatt was asked if Tennessee could break out the throwbacks for both home and away games in 2023. Wyatt responded saying he’s hearing the Titans could indeed wear the special uniforms for home and away matchups.
Wyatt previously said he suspects one game the Titans will wear the throwback Houston uniforms for will be against the Houston Texans. The official announcement from the Titans comes at the end of July.
The Oilers were an original AFL franchise that started play in 1960. The team spent 36 years in Houston before Bud Adams decided to move the franchise to Tennessee. During the team’s first two seasons in the Volunteer State, the franchise was known as the Tennessee Oilers, but that was changed to the Titans prior to the 1999 season.
The Titans have worn the Oilers throwbacks before, but it’s been almost 15 years since the last time it happened. Back in 2009, the Titans wore the uniforms to celebrate the AFL’s 50th anniversary season. The Titans wore blue throwbacks during a preseason game against the Bills.
The team then followed that up by wearing the white throwbacks during a regular season game against the Patriots.
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk had said in 2022 that she wanted to break out the Oilers throwbacks at some point.
“Oilers history is Titans history,” Adams Strunk said. “We know our fans feel passionately about showcasing that legacy on game day, and we’re actively working on making throwback jerseys possible in the near future.”
One reason the the Titans haven’t worn the Oilers throwbacks in over a decade is because of the NFL’s one-helmet rule that was implemented in 2013. Adams Strunk didn’t want the team to wear Titans helmets with Oilers uniforms, which would have been the only option with the one-helmet rule in place. However, the one-helmet rule was rescinded starting with the 2022 season, which opened the door for teams to wear alternate helmets.
According to Wyatt, the Titans will likely wear the blue jerseys for this year’s games and it could be from Houston’s “Luv Ya Blue” era. Those uniforms are slightly different from the blue jerseys from their AFL days.
No matter what the Titans decide to wear, it will definitely look awesome because the Oilers jerseys are among the most iconic in NFL history.
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Author: John Breech
July 5, 2023 | 4:38 pm
