Browns blend tradition, future in new uniforms

CLEVELAND — Team president Alec Scheiner believes the Browns’ new uniforms will make the team unique.

With multiple color combinations of brown, orange and white, the Browns will be able to mix and match from game to game.

“We could be like Oregon of the NFL,” Scheiner said before the team unveiled the Nike-designed uniforms at an event attended by thousands of Browns fans, some of whom have seen sneak previews of the jerseys on social media.

After two years of planning and months of speculation and secrecy, the team is unveiling the jerseys and pants on Tuesday night. Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas was one of nine current players picked to model the new uniforms, the most significant makeover the team has had in 40 years.

A couple tidbits that sneaked out before the unveiling were that there will be nine uniform combinations and the jerseys will include “Cleveland,” making the Browns the only NFL team to have its city named displayed prominently on the fronts.

Scheiner said the team consulted with fans during the long process to come up with the Browns’ new look. Scheiner said it was important to be true to the team’s rich history while also trying to look toward the future.

“We listened to our fans, and with respect to the logo and the uniforms we kind of got permission from our fans on how far we can go,” he said. “It’s a nice combination of a link to our history and then kind of moving the team forward and matching the city’s transformation.”

Browns linebacker Barkevious Mingo believes the new look does honor the team’s past.

“I went to LSU, it was traditional,” Mingo said. “I came to the Browns, traditional. But the changes that they made here, I think you see the tradition in the jersey, but it’s new and it’s different. I think different is sometimes good.”

The Browns spent two seasons on the re-design of their uniforms, which some fans considered bland while Browns traditionalists felt were a link to the franchise’s glory days.

The team was hoping for a more positive response than they received when they updated their orange helmet and logo. The Browns were panned for the helmet makeover, which was little more than the team using a bolder shade of orange.

Prior to the event, the Browns had their players pose for photographs on an orange carpet, and several of them, including newly signed wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, signed autographs and greeted fans.

Bowe, who previously played in Kansas City, said uniforms can make a difference.

“I don’t want to say it’s a mind thing,” he said. “But in this age, when players look good, they play good.”