Visions of Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and the K-Gun offense will dance through the minds of Buffalo fans this winter when they see their 2025 Bills take the field for their 2025 regular-season finale.
The reason: They'll do so while wearing the familiar and beloved red helmet. On Tuesday, the team announced the return of the helmet made famous by the aforementioned legends and they will don them in what will be the final reguar-season game played at Highmark Stadium.
Buffalo began play in the AFL in 1960 wearing white helmets, but changed to a red shell in 1984 in order to help their quarterback, Joe Ferguson, better distinguish his teammates from the opposition.
Kelly rarely had a problem with that. Arriving in 1986 from a stint in the USFL, Kelly embarked on an 11-year career that included four Super Bowl appearances, five Pro Bowls, one first-team All-Pro selection and a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, achievements all earned while wearing the famed red helmet adorned by the team's renowned charging bison logo.
Current Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen may deserve credit for Buffalo's decision to adopt the red helmet as an alternate in 2025. He toyed with Bills fans by wearing his own red helmet during the team's preseason scrimmage at Highmark Stadium in 2023, sparking renewed interest in reviving the headgear.
That's not the only item the Bills are bringing back in 2025, either. Buffalo also announced the return of the "Standing Buffalo" throwbacks -- a kit last worn in 2021 -- for their Week 5 and Week 11 games.
Buffalo wore a red helmet from 1984 until they reverted back to a white helmet with their 2011 rebrand, a modern take on uniforms worn from the mid-1970s into the early 1980s. Their Week 18 contest against the rival Jets will be the first time they've moved away from the white helmet since then -- and will be a day all Bills fans will eagerly anticipate.
