Jerseys are a hotter commodity in sports right now than perhaps they’ve ever been. This is largely due to the fact that many franchises are trying out new, modern looks—or nostalgic throwbacks—nearly every season, which means there are a lot of designs for each team to choose from on any given Sunday. We hate to say it, but one of the strongest jersey design traditions belongs to the New England Patriots.
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They have had many eras of great uniforms. The red Pat the Patriot look is still one of the best throwbacks any team can dial up. The lighter blue versions from the Drew Bledsoe era perhaps left a little to be desired, but they bounced back with the darker blue jerseys during those dynasty years in the 2000s.
The most recent addition was the Color Rush uniform design, with both pants and jersey in Patriots navy blue. With so many to choose from, which era of Patriots jerseys would be considered the best? There’s no way to get an unbiased, definitive answer, so why don’t we let a couple of former Patriots players and legends, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski, decide these power rankings for us?
Gronk was quick to sing the praises of the Color Rush unis:
“Let me tell ya, I loved the Color Rush jerseys when we were wearing them on TNF, remember that year (2015) when everyone had to wear the Color Rush jerseys? That was one of my favorite jerseys that we ever wore… The Color Rush, it was a greyish, dark-blue type of jersey color, and that was my favorite by far. I still have my jersey that I wore on TNF hung up in my house, because I loved it that much.”
While Gronk loved the new-look Color Rush get-ups, his buddy, Edelman, represented more a purist take on the debate. He went for the red throwback Pat the Patriot jerseys, which the franchise has retained in rotation for the last three years, ever since the league began allowing teams to have an alternate kit with a different colored helmet to their primary.
Edelman got to wear those uniforms before the so-called “One Shell Rule” was put into effect during the 2013 season under the guise of player safety. It was phased back out following the 2021 campaign, allowing Pat the Patriot to return.
“I liked the Pat the Patriot jersey, the one that we wore in 2009. We had the white helmets before they changed the rule where you couldn’t have multiple helmets. We played Tennessee in that uniform, the Titans. I believe we beat them 44-0 or something. Tom had six touchdowns in the first half. It was October 14th, and it was like a hug snowstorm, it didn’t snow anywhere but in Foxborough… And we were wearing those old Pat the Patriot unis, I liked the red.”
Edelman is no Sean McVay, but he remembered that game pretty well. It was actually a 59-0 win for the Patriots, which remains the biggest NFL blowout since WW2, Brady threw five TDs in the first half (he threw his 6th of the day five minutes into the 3rd quarter), and it was actually October 18. But he was close on all of them.
Tom Brady leads the Patriots to a 59-0 comeback in the snow.
Can’t wait to see these uniforms this season. pic.twitter.com/hhkyIR0Ap9
— Savage (@SavageSports_) June 25, 2022
It was a massive snowstorm, though, and they were wearing those throwback unis. It was also the 2nd start of Edelman’s career, during which he chipped in with six receptions for 43 yards.
I think most Patriots fans can agree the Pat The Patriot logo & red jerseys are simply superior. pic.twitter.com/NR8WQauKXW
— Drake 10 (@DrakesPats) January 25, 2025
In the end, Gronk ceded to Edelman’s opinion, ranking the red Pat the Patriot jerseys at No. 1. The big tight end then put his favorites, the Color Rush, at No. 2, followed by the light blue Bledsoe-era jerseys at No. 3, and the dynasty jerseys checking in at No. 4. While they ranked the “basic” jerseys they wore most often in last place, Gronk did say that while they were boring, “they were the dynasty jerseys”.
