Cardinals Release Black Alternate Helmet for 2022 Season

The Cardinals are the latest team to announce their new alternate helmet for the the 2022 season and it will be paired with the team’s color rush uniforms. The all-black helmets were announced Sunday via a video on Twitter that features several of the teams’ stars reacting to the unveiling. 

Kyler Murray can be heard reacting with, “That’s nice, can I touch it?” before he eventually gives a resounding “holy s--t.” Budda Baker was a bit more conservative and said “that’s awesome” while JJ Watt stoically said “wow” when he saw the new look.

“I see the red sparkles in there — I think that’s the best part of it,” Baker said when seeing the helmet for the first time, per the release. “It looks black but it has like a chrome-ish red look, those are going to look real clean. Play good, look good, feel good for sure.”

The helmets will be worn just three times this season. The first will be on Aug. 21 during a preseason matchup against the Ravens, then during Week 6 on Oct. 9 against the Eagles at home when they’ll pair it with their black alternate jerseys to complete the look. Finally, the Cardinals will wear the helmets on Oct. 20 for their Week 7 Thursday Night Football home game against the Saints. 

The helmet can only be worn with alternate jerseys, per the release. NFL teams have begun to announce their new alternate helmets thanks to the NFL relaxing its previous rule didn’t allow teams to wear alternate helmets at all. The league required squads to use one look for the entire season. 

The NFL outlawed the use of a second helmet almost 10 years ago because there was an idea that different helmets could fit a player differently and therefore be a potential safety risk, per the release. The Cardinals are one of 13 teams to announce a second helmet in 2022. The other teams are the Bears, Patriots, Panthers, Jets, Giants, Texans, Cowboys, Bengals, Saints, Commanders, Falcons and Eagles.