Riddell NFL Pocket Pro Mini Helmet Collection
Day 1 of the NFL season and the Ravens alternate drop.
Interestingly, the Ravens are one of only eight teams where one can buy the factory helmets and get the complete team history. The other 24 team helmets have to be filled in with custom helmets. The other teams are:
The 2024 Packers and Lions pocket helmets dropped. These are the 7th and 8th “limited edition” pocket helmets Riddell has released this year. Five of them are alternates. The other three are throwbacks (Bucs, Falcons and Seahawks).
What recent alternate will be next? The Ravens, Cardinals, Browns, Colts, Saints, Bears (3 stripes), Broncos, Texans (2), Jaguars, Commanders, Vikings, 2023 Jets, or 2024 Jets? Or maybe the 2023 Lions alternate?
Or maybe a 2024 throwback? The Giants, Broncos, Jaguars? Other recent throwbacks from the past few years have been from the Patriots, Bills, Broncos, Cowboys, Oilers, Colts and Dolphins.
The Jaguars and Packers added two “white out” helmets to their alternates this year. No news on the pocket helmet status, but none expected either as these are brand new. So, the Jaguars will wear three helmets in 2024: the white out, the 1995-2012 throwback, and their primary helmet. The Packers will wear two.
One might think the Packers have not worn a lot of alternates as their primary helmet has not changed since 1961. However, the white out helmet will be their fourth alternate since 1994. Here are the other three.
If one doesn’t consider the facemask color, the Packers and the Browns have the oldest primary helmet designs still in use (1961). The Browns made a slight change to their striping texture in 2015-19, so maybe it’s not as continuous as the Packers.
The Jaguars and Packers join the Bengals, Broncos, Browns, Cowboys, and Vikings for teams that have worn the white out helmet in 2023 or 2024, for a total of seven.
The Jaguars introduced a throwback for 2024. It is the helmet they wore in 1995-2012.
This helmet is available as a pocket helmet in the 2-bar, traditional, chrome, and revolution styles. A lot of them are still available on various shopping sites. It is not available as a speed style factory helmet. I would anticipate it’s appearance as a factory speed pocket helmet is unlikely. But who knows?
The new Ravens alternate dropped about a week ago. Check it out:
I haven’t heard other rumors about alternates or primary updates for 2024. With the season only about 9 weeks away, it’s unlikely another helmet will be dropped.
There are seven brand new alternates for 2024: Ravens, Lions, Texans x2, Vikings, and Jets. Since 2022, there have been 13 others. I think all of these would make a nice set 🙂
Riddell announced the drop of the Falcons 1966-69 throwback pocket helmet. It’s part of their 2024 limited edition series.
This should be straight forward, right? Well, kind of.
First, the pocket helmet is a 100% accurate depiction of the 1966-69 Falcons helmet: gold/white/black stripes, grey facemask, the feather has floating lines, and the arm and neck meet in a V-pattern.
Of course, the speed style helmet was not around in the 1960’s. The falcons wore it as a throwback in 2009 and 12. And again in 2022-23. The helmet is accurate save for one minor detail: the neckline. In 1966-69, the logo had a V-pattern. The throwback the Falcons have worn in the 20th century has a straight line between the head and arm. Look at the photo above and the photo below.
So, the pocket helmet is an accurate throwback in the speed style. The actual throwback helmet wore by the Falcons is not 100% accurate. This is a minor detail that may not matter to most collectors, if not all of them. Happy collecting!
I had an incredibly busy 6 weeks. But am back! I want to express my appreciation to Michael Dole for the motivation 🙂
All of the team websites and the team checklists below have been updated. I will be busy the rest of the summer updating my collection and will post photos as they come in.
Riddell dropped factory primary helmets for 2024. These are separate from the recent “special edition” releases.
The fact these were released is a hint that these will be all of the primary helmet updates for 2024. These are available on various shopping sites.
Two special edition factory drops
Riddell dropped one factory throwback and one factory alternate for the Bucs and Panthers, respectively.
Vikings alternate
The Vikings dropped a new white alternate. All indications are that the Vikings will continue to wear the 1961-79 throwback. The Vikings will wear three helmets in 2024. A factory pocket helmet has not been announced as of today.
New York Giants Throwback
For their 100th anniversary, the Giants will wear a blue wing-front helmet with a grey facemask. No factory helmet as of June 2024.
Ravens alternate
In April, Uni Watch released a rumor about the Ravens adopting an alternate helmet in 2024. The Ravens have been a model of consistency, wearing only one design since 1999.
Broncos
The Broncos announced three changes:
The new regular helmet is basically the same as the previous helmet. It only has a different stripe. Same with the white alternate.
It appears the midnight blue alternate Denver wore between 2016 and 2023 will be retired. As will the 2023 alternate. I would not anticipate Riddell making factory versions of these pocket helmets as they are now outdated.
The Broncos twitter feed suggests the throwback is a throwback to 1977. However, the image appears to display the 1993-96 logo. As noted on my Broncos pocket helmet site, the Broncos changed the “D” logo in 1993. There’s also the issue of the color. The Broncos wore the lighter blue later, mostly in the 80s and 90s. However, there is evidence to suggest the Broncos wore multiple shades of blue in 1976-77. So, the color might match.
There’s a lot of nostalgia for this helmet. I think it looks great. But I have also liked the newer Broncos logo and helmet from the last 20 years. It has a clean, modern look. The logo also stands out. The throwback is an orange D with, from a distance, looks like a white ink blot.
Texans
The Texans released two new alternates for 2024. one midnight blue and the other red. Both are significant departures from the current helmet. The midnight blue alternate appears to incorporate Oilers colors.
A factory pocket helmet of the red alternate was not made last year (2023). I would expect this helmet to be retired and a factory pocket helmet not made.
Lions
The Lions announced three helmets for next year. One is new. The other is a new alternate. The third is a throwback that was worn in 1949-56 and as a throwback in 2017 through 2020 and again in 2022 through the present. None of the three helmets have a factory helmet.
The Lions have been active in their helmets since 2000. Since 2000 (including 2024), they have worn five different official helmets, two alternates, and three throwbacks (the plain silver helmets with either a blue, silver or black facemask). That’s 10 different helmet styles in 25 years.
The silver helmet is basically the same as last years, with added white stripes, a blue facemask, and lighter blue Lion. The alternate replaces the light blue Lion and stripes with black. The plain silver helmet has been worn as a throwback for a while now. Interestingly, Detroit has worn the plain silver helmet at other times, but with blue or black facemasks.
See the Lions or Teams checklist sites for more details.
Texans
There is a rumor the Texans will have a new alternate next year. It will not have the traditional bull logo, but an H in what appear to be old Houston Oilers colors. We’ll see if that goes anywhere.
The Browns are going back to the white facemask. A short history of the Browns helmets is below.
The “new” version released the other day is the same style as the Browns wore between 1975 and 2005. The Browns also wore in 2022 and 2023 as a throwback. Factory pocket helmets exist for this style in Traditional, Revolution, and Chrome styles, but not speed. I would anticipate Riddell releasing a speed style of this helmet sometime this year.
Riddell NFL Pocket Pro Helmets 