via @AndrewMLind on X
A leaked image of what appears to be the Falcons' new red jersey has been making the rounds, and if this is real, Atlanta might finally be heading in the right direction.
The jersey is clean. Red base, white numbers with a black outline, "FALCONS" wordmark across the chest, and what looks like the exact same logo on the sleeves. No major rebrand on the logo itself. The inside collar reads "DIRTY BIRDS," which is a nice clubhouse detail.
The numbers are the best part. They have a subtle Falcon-inspired edge to them without going overboard. That's something a lot of teams get wrong. Remember when the Buccaneers did their alarm clock numbers and the Falcons did their weirdly shaped numbers? We hated both. The Falcons kept it simple here and the numbers actually look good because of it.
What We Liked About the Matt Ryan Era
We have to talk about what came before. The Falcons uniforms from the Matt Ryan era were some of the most underrated sets in the NFL. There was something about the balance of red, black, and white that just worked. They weren't flashy. They weren't trying to be futuristic. They were just solid football jerseys.
We honestly wish they never changed those. If they had just cleaned those up slightly instead of scrapping them entirely, we think the Falcons would have had one of the best uniform sets in the league for the last decade.
The 2020 Redesign That Missed
Then came the 2020 overhaul. Atlanta went with a gradient-heavy, overly designed set that tried too hard to be modern. The numbers were hard to read on the field, the striping was inconsistent, and the overall look felt like it was designed by committee. It was a step backward.
Our Take
If these leaks are legit, this is a step in the right direction. The clean approach works. The numbers are readable and have just enough personality. The logo staying the same is fine for now.
We're giving this a tentative B+ because we like what we see so far, but we need to see the full set. The helmet, the pants, the away jersey, and the alternate. That's where a uniform set really comes together or falls apart. If the rest of the set matches this level of clean, this could easily move up.
Tentative Grade: B+
Leaked jersey image via @AndrewMLind on X