Houston Texans unveil first uniform redesign since franchise's inception in 2000

The Houston Texans are altering their appearance for the first time in franchise history.

Instead, there are multiple designs aimed at encompassing every aspect: tradition, innovation, and making a bold statement. On Tuesday, Houston revealed four uniforms, including an upgraded home kit, a novel road set with new shoulder and helmet features, and an unconventional alternate uniform that emphasizes the character of the city the Texans consider home.

The latest home uniform shares the most resemblance with the Texans’ previous uniforms, worn from 2002-2023. The red shoulder stripes on the Deep Steel Blue tops have been replaced with the team’s bull logo at the end of each sleeve cap. The team’s name, previously in white, is now in red, matched with a newly designed custom number typefont that is featured on all four uniforms. The home jersey displays this in white with red trims, with “Texans” appearing in small, red typefont across the chest. Houston has also updated their white pants with a two-stripe pattern that includes a wide navy stripe and a thin red stripe for emphasis, as well as repainted their Deep Steel Blue helmet with a metallic flake finish.

When the Texans take their game on the road, they up their style game with a Deep Steel Blue helmet and newly designed Liberty White tops. These tops boast a fresh bullhorn mark, which starts at the back of the shoulder cap and spirals upwards towards the front, a nod to the horns present in the team’s main logo. On the white tops, the horns are depicted in Deep Steel Blue, accented with an inner Battle Red line. This adds a new decorative touch to the Texans’ shoulders, which complements the “Houston” written across the chest in Battle Red.

The new numbers are displayed in Deep Steel Blue and Battle Red trim on the road tops. The same striping pattern is featured on the Deep Steel Blue pants, which have a broad Battle Red stripe and a narrow Liberty White stripe.

Houston has increased its adventure factor with their Battle Red alternate uniforms. They retained the candy Battle Red finish from their previous alternate helmet, but updated it with a new bullhorn logo which is rendered in Deep Steel Blue on both sides of the helmet. The helmet matches the Battle Red jersey, which also sports the new bullhorn design on the sleeve caps. After over a decade of wearing Battle Red jerseys with white numbers outlined in blue, Houston has switched it up, now featuring numbers filled in with Deep Steel Blue and outlined in Liberty White. These new jerseys can be paired with matching red pants, adorned with a broad Deep Steel Blue stripe and a thin Liberty White stripe.

In a bold move, Houston has introduced a fresh alternate Color Rush look, reminiscent of city-inspired sets seen in MLB and NBA in recent years. The new design, named ‘H-Town Blue’, features on an innovative fourth kit. The traditional bull logo on the helmet has been replaced with a unique ‘H’ mark, aimed at representing the city of Houston. This new logo will be worn on the side of the Texans’ helmets, as well as on other smaller parts of the uniforms. The rest of the new home uniform is splashed with Battle Red (numbers, socks, wide pants striping) and H-Town Blue (number trim, cleats, gloves). Although the bull logo remains on the uniform’s sleeve caps, it is now outlined in H-Town Blue, with the logo’s lone star eye in Battle Red instead of Liberty White.

This uniform presents a bold visual and symbolic statement. Following the relocation of the Oilers to Tennessee in mid-1990s, Houston fans have persistently requested for the Texans to adopt the Oilers’ former colors in their home city. However, it’s the Titans, as the owners of the franchise history, who have the rights to the throwback uniforms and have worn them sporadically over the past 15 years, including in 2023.

In response, the Texans developed their own unique style, incorporating new colors that will undoubtedly stand out against their Deep Steel Blue base color, particularly under the lights of a primetime event.

Despite some inconsistencies in the new uniform system of the Texans, their effort is evidently aimed at modernizing their look while preserving the most admired aspects of the uniforms they’ve donned since their 2002 NFL debut. This bold and in certain areas, assertive approach is apt for a team that endured many low years before experiencing a remarkable comeback in 2023, marked by a playoff win.

“Today, we are thrilled to unveil our new uniforms for the first time since 2000,” announced Texans Chair and CEO, Cal McNair. “What makes these uniforms extra unique is that they were designed with the inspiration and for our fans. Our fans requested us to incorporate more of H-Town element, and we did just that. They have been by our side throughout the process and we ensure there is something for everyone across these four uniforms.”

These Texans are no longer content to be benched in the bullpen. Houston, donning these new uniforms, is delivering a potent message: We’re primed to take on the rest of the football universe.