New Drops! 49ers, Dolphins, Chargers and Texans

49ers and Dolphins: The last of the rivalries

This completes the 2025 rivalries helmets. All 2025 rivalries helmets have a factory pocket helmet. This would have made a nice set. But where would the suspense of guessing who is next be?

The 49ers wore their alternate in 2026 as well. This is the 2nd 49ers limited edition helmet, the first being 2025’s 1989-95 throwback, which the 49ers have worn most years since 2005.
The Dolphins wore this alternate in 2026 as well. This is also the 2nd Dolphins limited edition helmet, the first being 2024’s 1966-69 throwback, which the Dolphins have worn periodically over the years.

Chargers

I wrote a post in April 2026 about how unique an earlier drop was. This one is also unique.

To recap: In 2020, the Chargers introduced a new primary helmet and two alternates. Riddell made a factory helmet of the primary. Eventually, one of the alternates was released as a factor helmet in April 2026. This is the other alternate. Interestingly, the Chargers haven’t worn these helmets for a few years. I created the table below to simplify things.

Overall, this is the third Chargers limited edition release:

2025/11/20: LA Chargers 2025 blue alternate throwback
2026/04/30: LA Chargers 2020-23 alternate
2026/10/15: LA Chargers 2020-24 alternate

Year	Primary: Gold bolt Powder blue outline Gold facemask	Alternate: Gold bolt Royal blue outline Gold facemask	Alternate: Navy blue bolt Gold outline Navy blue facemask
2020	13	1	2
2021	15	1	1
2022	15	1	1
2023	15	1	1
2024	16	0	1
2025	14	0	0

Texans

Finally, the 2022-23 alternate, one of the nicer looking alternates, in my opinion. The Texans now have a factory helmet for all of their styles. Everything is all black or white. It’s nice to see color! Again, another unique drop. This one has hasn’t been worn by the Texans for 3 years. This suggests Riddell is dipping into the archives. With the 2025 alternates out of the way, it will be interesting to see what the next drop is….maybe the 2023 Honolulu Blue Lions helmet with the mustang logo?

My next post will cover the 4-team sets I have seen popping up….stay tuned!

They’re back…the four-helmet team set.

In the 90’s and early 2000’s, Riddell released four-helmet sets. They were:

Chicago Bears – mix of regular and super bowl helmets
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Green Bay Packers – super bowl team set
New England Patriots – mix of regular and super bowl helmets
Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers – super bowl team set
Washington Commanders
Washington Commanders – super bowl team set

Most of the helmets were available individually or as parts of other sets, but some were exclusive to the four-helmet sets:

Bears: Monsters of Midway 2-bar
Bears: Hall of fame 2-bar
Cowboys: 1964-65
Cowboys: 1960-63
Packers: Super Bowl 1 original style – super bowl 1 logo / GB logo
Packers: Super Bowl 2 original style – super bowl 2 logo / GB logo
Lambeau Field original style
Patriots: 1991-92
Patriots: Super Bowl 36 original style – super bowl 36 / NE logo
Patriots: Super Bowl 38 original style – super bowl 38 / NE logo
Eagles: 1948-49 2-bar
Eagles: 1974-95 traditional style
Washington Commanders: 1965-68
Washington Commanders: Super Bowl 17 original style – super bowl 17 logo & score on both sides
Washington Commanders: Super Bowl 22 original style – super bowl 22 logo & score on both sides
Washington Commanders: Hall of Fame logo helmet (original style)

After about a 20 year hiatus, the four-helmet set is back. This new Packers includes the regular primary and two that were already released as part of the limited edition series. And it includes a new one, the 2026 alternate rivalries helmet.

For collectors, this is kind of problematic. With tax and shipping, the set can almost be $40. That’s a good deal for those who missed the original limited edition sales. But for a lot of us, it means we are paying $40 for one helmet.

Now, you can never have too many pocket helmets 🙂 And the leather one is pretty cool. Riddell might release the rivalries alternates (like they did this year) in 2027 for individual sale, including the Packers. If I lived close to Green Bay, I would probably visit the store and pick one up. But $40 is pretty steep.

Regardless, it’s cool to see Riddell moving back to the sets.

Five Jets Helmets + Two Logos

Below are the five pocket helmets with the Jets text logo. Look closely at the logos.

Row 1: 78-89, 90-97
Row 2: 25 alternate rivalry, 24 alternate, 24 primary

I found this image on Helmet Addict. It shows the differences between the 78-97 logo and 2024-present logo. I thought they were the same.

And sure enough, if you look closely at the pocket helmet logos, you can see the differences. Well done, Riddell.

Rams, Bills & (another) Jets rivalries drop!

Six out of 8 rivalries helmets from 2025 have dropped. I think it’s safe to assume that two of the remaining 2025 Limited Edition drops will be the 49ers and the Dolphins.

The Jets alternate is the 49th pocket drop…meaning #50 is the next drop! Try not to think about the money you’ve spent 🙂 What I do like about the Limited Edition series is that they are heavy on alternates. 28/49 have been alternates. 33/49 alternate throwbacks.

The three teams highlighted in this post all had 2025 rivalry pocket helmets released by Riddell and announced new alternates for 2026. That’s my excuse for the delay in recent postings 🙂

I have updated the Limited Edition, Teams Checklist, and Factory Speed pages. In addition to the Bills, Jets, and Rams pages.

Jets Updates

The Jets also announced a new alternate for 2026: the white alternate. The white alternate seems to be a trend. I kind of like the clean, white or black look. At the same time, though, I must admit that I kind of miss the oranges, blues, reds, and multi-colored combinations of the 70’s and 80’s.

The Jets, by the way, have accumulated A LOT of alternates over the years. I also indicated if there is a factory pocket version of the helmet (as of 8/16/26):

1993 Hunter green helmet with the white Jets logo
1994 Hunter green helmet with the white Jets logo + white stripes
2016-18 White alternate, the exact same as the 1998-2018 primary except with a white facemask (the primary had a hunter green facemask)
2015-18 “Color rush” alternate. Same as the primary except the green had a metallic sheen.
2022-23 Black alternate with the 2019-23 logo
2024-25 Black alternate with the 2024-present logo – Speed limited edition
2024-25 White throwback alternate (throwback to 1965-77, but with a different green, called “Legacy Green) – Speed limited edition
2025 Black alternate with the 2024-present logo – Speed limited edition
2026 White alternate with the 2024-present logo

Another fun fact about this release. The Jets now have the most unique factory speed pocket helmets with six. The Chargers, Commanders and….Browns all have five. The Browns are a little surprising as they are associated with a plain orange helmet. However, they’ve had two alternates (brown and white) and had subtle changes to their stripes and facemask.

Bills Updates

The Bills also announced their new alternate for 2026. The 2026 alternate is definitely interesting. This will be the first time since 1960 (!) that the Bills have not worn the Bill, whether the Bill was plain red, plain white (1994), or Blue with the red stripe. Quite a departure.

Rams Updates

The 2025 rivalries helmet is the first Rams limited edition pocket helmet. The 2026 alternate could be the third helmet with the modern horns and the third color. I took a picture of the primary and the 2025 rivalries and frankly it’s difficult for me to tell. This will be the first white horns on a helmet since 2019. Previously, the horns were white between 1964-72.

Cardinals Alternate Rivalries Drop & 2026 new releases

We are halfway through the 2026 drops with the Cardinals alternate rivalries drop. This is the 47th overall and the 2nd for the Cardinals (the other being the black alternate). I think it’s a pretty nice design. The limited edition helmets have pretty good craftsmanship, in my opinion, and I expect this release to be the same.

This is the fourth rivalries alternate. The other rivalries alternate releases were the Seahawks, Patriots, and Rams. There are four other rivalries alternates that Riddell has not released: 49ers, Bills, Dolphins, and Jets. I am going to assume the four other rivalries will eventually be released, leaving three helmets. There are some throwback and other alternate options from the last few years Riddell could release.

Moving forward, here are changes in the 2026 season that could be released. Many will be confirmed or finalized in August.

The new Titans and Commanders primaries are already available for pre-order. They obviously will not be part of the limited edition release series.
Two new Ravens alternates. A post on X imples the Ravens will keep their current primary and add two new alternates, the Purple Rising and Darkness helmet.
The Commanders will introduce a new black alternate (the W with an arrow through it).
The Rams apparently will wear an alternate in 2026. It’s not clear to me if the alternate will be the same as the 2025 rivalries alternate. The Rams are also “refreshing” their uniforms, but I don’t know if the helmet will change.
Rumored (not confirmed) Bills blue alternate helmet.
The NFC North and AFC South will be wearing rivalry alternate helmets in 2026. That’s eight. Here is the rivalries schedule:
- 2025 Phase: AFC East and NFC West
- 2026 Phase: AFC South and NFC North
- 2027 Phase: AFC West and NFC East
- 2028 Phase: AFC North and NFC South

This Sports Illustrated article did a pretty good job outlining the changes for 2026. All of the drop announcement images are below (not including the most recent Cardinals).

Another unexpected drop! The New York Giants alternate throwback

About a month ago, Riddell dropped the 2020-23 LA Chargers helmet. This was interesting because Riddell had previously only released contemporary helmets. The Chargers hadn’t worn this helmet since 2023…three years ago.

The most recent drop goes back to 2021. Here’s the story: In 2016, the Giants wore the 1981-99 helmet as a throwback. However, the NFL had a one helmet rule at the time. So, that Giants helmet has a metallic blue color, as opposed to the dark blue color the team actually wore between 1981 and 1999. That rule was repealed in 2022. So the Giants could wear the dark blue color starting 2022. Riddell released the dark blue helmet in February 2025.

You can also see in the photo below that the color of the 2016-21 helmet closely matches the primary color. Well done, Riddell. The craftsmanship for the limited edition helmets has been very good.

More info: Giants – Riddell NFL Pocket Pro Helmets

Updated Checklist

There have been a total of 46 limited edition helmets. Eight are left in 2026.

Riddell manufactured alternates and throwbacks in the speed style for the Bengals (2), Eagles, and Lions. There are not part of the limited edition series. And the Bengals throwback was never actually worn by the Bengals.

The only teams without a limited edition series helmet (not including the Bengals, who have the two speed helmets) are the Chiefs and Raiders. I wouldn’t expect a limited edition from these teams as they have essentially worn the same helmet since the 90’s.

Who could be next? There are still five rivalries helmets from 2025 available. The fact that Riddell has released retired helmets in the limited edition series opens up possibilities, like the 2023 Lions, 2023 Texans, 2016-22 Broncos, 2023 Broncos, or 2023 Jets alternates, which I think are really cool. Or maybe the Bills, Colts or Saints throwbacks, all of which have been worn in recent years.

Throwback / Alternate

Total: 46
2024: 15/15
2025: 25/25
2026: 6/14
Throwbacks: 16
Alternates (incl. rivalry): 25
Alternate throwbacks: 5

NFC: 26

East: 9 – Commanders 2, Cowboys 3, Eagles 1, Giants 3
North: 7 – Bears 2, Packers 2, Lions 1, Vikings 2
South: 5 – Buccaneers 1, Falcons 1, Panthers 1, Saints 2
West: 5 – 49ers 1, Cardinals 1, Rams 1, Seahawks 2

AFC: 20

East: 6 – Bills 1, Dolphins 1, Jets 2, Patriots 2
North: 3 – Bengals 0, Browns 2, Ravens 1, Steelers 1
South: 6 – Colts 1, Jaguars 2, Texans 2, Titans 1
West: 3 – Broncos 2, Chargers 2, Chiefs 0, Raiders 0

Note: The Bengals 1968-79 throwback, Eagles 1985-95 throwback, Lions 2023 alternate, and Bengals white alternate were manufactured in the speed style, but not released as part of the limited edition series. They are not included in this checklist.

A solid Chargers helmet

The limited edition helmets have been sharp, in my opinion. It would have been nice to have numbers on the helmets (like the actual helmets did), but that’s okay. I think there is licensing issues with using the numbers. But overall, well done in my opinion.

The execution of the bolt in the limited edition helmet (2020-23 alternate) on the left is much better executed than the regular factory helmet (2020-present primary). The photo below compares the two.

The photo below shows all the factory helmets for the Chargers.

The photo below is my factory and customs. The only one missing is the 2025 alternate throwback with player #s.

A unique Chargers drop

The newest Pocket Helmet Limited Edition drop will be the Chargers color rush helmet. It has a gold bolt with a royal blue outline and gold facemask. The pocket helmet does not have the player number, so it’s not entirely ‘authentic.’ After I write about why this is such an unusual drop, I will present the recent history of this helmet follows.

This is unusual drop because the Chargers haven’t worn this style since 2023. Previous limited edition drops focused on the current (or just ended) year. But this one goes three years back, almost putting it in the category of a throwback. Maybe the Chargers will wear this helmet again in 2026? This drop also kind of opens the possibility of pre-2024 limited drops, like the 2023 Lions alternate. Which is the holy grail of speed NFL pocket helmets 🙂

The Chargers switched to the white helmet in 2007. They had worn a white helmet in the 60’s and 70’s. Since 2007, the Chargers helmets have had several bolt color and outline variations. This is based on my research from the Gridiron Uniform Database.

Gold bolt with powder blue and navy outline, 2007-19
Gold bolt with navy blue outline, 2016-19
Gold bolt with powder blue outline, 2020-present
Gold bolt with dark royal blue outline, 2020-23
Navy bolt with navy blue outline, 2020-24

You may note the recent 2020-23 alternate drop is very similar to the 2016-19 alternate helmet, just with a different type of blue (navy blue vs dark royal blue). I will assume the blue outline is different. The colors did change, according to the Chargers branding sites. And they do look different on the Gridiron Uniform Database site. Riddell did not make a factory helmet for the 2016-19 alternate, so it will be difficult to compare.

The table below provides more details about the history since 2007. The full history is on my Chargers pocket helmet site.

Years	Color	Facemask	Logo	Pocket helmet
2007-2018	White	Blue	Gold bolt with powder blue and navy blue outline Worn for one game in 2019 as an alternate	Revolution Speed
2019	White	Gold	Gold bolt with powder blue and navy blue outline	Speed
2016-19 alternate	White	Gold	Gold bolt with navy blue outline	None
2020-present	White	Gold	Gold bolt with powder blue outline, Powder blue player There is no player # on helmet on the factory pocket helmet	Speed
2020-23 alternate	White	Gold	Gold bolt with dark royal blue outline Royal blue player # There is no player # on helmet on the factory pocket helmet	Speed – limited edition series
2020-24 alternate	White	Navy blue	Navy blue bolt with gold outline, Navy blue player #	None
2025 alternate throwback	Navy blue	Navy blue	White bolt with gold and navy blue outline There is no player # on helmet on the factory pocket helmet	Speed – limited edition series

An interesting Commanders redesign

The Commanders are switching to a new primary and alternate again in 2026.

At first, I thought the burgundy primary was the same as the 2025 alternate. It is in every respect except for one detail. The 2025 alternate had a matte finish. The 2026 primary has a gloss finish. The new Commanders primary (along with the new Titans primary) is available for a pre-order on the SESportsMemorabilia website.

The new primary is a clear homage to the 1972-2019 helmet design. The new alternate likely references the 1965-69 arrow helmet. The last time the Commanders wore that helmet as a throwback was in 2003.

What is interesting to me is that there is ZERO reference to the Commanders in this helmet design. In fact, it’s more of a reference to the past than the current Commanders team. I wonder what that means for the future.

Patriots Alternate Rivalry & Bills Drop Promotions

With this announcement, Riddell is almost certainly going to release the 2025 rivalry alternates this year. This helmet has a muted white look with a washed out blue logo. It is kind of an underwhelming design, in my opinion. Riddell didn’t have a lot to work with here. But maybe when the physical helmet arrives, I will have a different opinion.

More information on my Limited Edition site.

Bills Promotional Images

Every limited edition release had the same announcement branding, including the 2026 Seahawks. All of them are on the Limited Edition site, but a sample are below.

The 1987-2001 Bills throwback (from March), however, did not. The first image was from the release day, while the second is from the Riddell website. So, Riddell could be taking a new branding approach.

Interestingly, some of these Bills helmets are still available weeks later. Last year, they were selling out so fast. This surprises me as the Bills are a hot team. And these is a cool looking and unique helmet. We’ll see how the Patriots helmet does.