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Jeffrey Lurie excited the Eagles are bringing back kelly green uniforms for a game this season

The Eagles are expected to have a formal announcement sometime after the release of the NFL schedule in May and events planned before and during the game.

Brent Celek, left, Stewart Bradley, center, and DeSean Jackson wear throw-back kelly green uniforms at Franklin Field in 2010.
Brent Celek, left, Stewart Bradley, center, and DeSean Jackson wear throw-back kelly green uniforms at Franklin Field in 2010.Read moreDAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Photographer

PHOENIX — Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie says he’s “super excited” about the return of the classic kelly green uniforms this season.

“I don’t know what date that’s going to be, but I think fans will love it. It’s why we’re bringing it back,” he said Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings. “We really took the feedback seriously over the years. The first moment we could get the kelly green helmet approved, we’ll finally be able to see it on the field.”

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Lurie didn’t have specifics on when the Eagles will wear them because the NFL has yet to announce the schedule for the coming season. But the team is expected to have a formal announcement sometime after the release in May and events planned before and during the game.

The kelly green uniforms, which Eagles players had worn for most of the franchise’s existence, went away in 1996 shortly after Lurie purchased the team. He wanted to reflect the regime change and chose a more modern style, still with winged helmets, but with a new palette: midnight green.

» READ MORE: Eagles to bring back kelly green, and a city rejoices

Some fans embraced the new look, especially when the Eagles started winning regularly in the early 2000s. Most have eventually accepted the change. But there remained a significant portion of the team’s fanbase that longed for the kelly greens that had silver pants.

A brief, one-game return in the 2010 season opener that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1960 NFL championship only increased the sentiment. The Eagles then set about trying to fulfill those wishes. In 2018, the league allowed for teams to have alternative uniforms they could wear several times throughout the season.

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But the league restricted the number of helmets that could be worn. The Eagles pressed on and in June, a second helmet was permitted and the team began working with Nike to find the exact replica of the late 1980s-early 1990s jerseys worn by legendary Eagles such as Reggie White and Randall Cunningham.