Latest news with #DerwinJamesJr.
Los Angeles Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Chargers will be looking 🔥— or maybe like Minions — in 2025 alternate uniforms
The Chargers are going for the gold this season. Or are they going for the mustard bottle? Or the banana? Fans will be able to figure that out for themselves this fall when the team debuts its 'Charger Power' uniforms, one of two alternate looks revealed by the team Tuesday that will be worn during the 2025 season. The Chargers also announced that they now have the option to wear powder blue pants with their regular jerseys, which are powder blue at home and white on the road. The Charger Power look features yellowish gold jerseys with matching pants, to be worn with the regular white helmet. 'If you're going to do gold, the way we did it with all gold, it looks amazing,' Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. said in a team news release. 'It's a great alternate!' When the Bolts don the uniforms Oct. 19 against the Indianapolis Colts at SoFi Stadium, it will be the first time Chargers players have worn gold jerseys in a game. Fans, however, have had the opportunity to wear them in the past. 'Nike had previously done a retail version of the 2020 jerseys in gold,' A.G. Spanos, the Chargers' president of business operations, said in a statement. 'It sold quite well and had really good word of mouth. In fact, in my own household, it was my kids' favorite uniform. It definitely appeals to the younger demographic.' The look has already garnered plenty of online reactions. One longtime fan, who appreciated the nod to the yellow 'Charger Power' T-shirts worn by Bolts faithful in the late 1970s and early 1980s, wrote on X that the uniforms are 'simply beautiful.' Retired NFL offensive lineman and current Amazon football analyst Andrew Whitworth spoke from experience after wearing similarly colored alternative uniforms on occasion during his time with the Rams. 'Been there done this,' Whitworth wrote on X. 'Had me out there looking like Big Bird!' The Minions, the cartoon characters from the 'Despicable Me' film franchise, seemed to like the uniforms ... though perhaps not for how they'll look on an NFL field. 'the new recruits look so cool,' the fictional creatures wrote on X in response to a team post highlighting the Charger Power look. Cam Jordan, a defensive end for the New Orleans Saints, had a more critical take, posting on X: 'Gold!???? Nah that's ... French's! That is mustard yellow…' One X user compared the look to that of a popular novelty baseball team. 'We look like damn Savannah Bananas,' the fan wrote. 'At least the Navy's are [fire emoji].' The latter part of that post referred to the team's second set of alternate duds: the Super Chargers uniforms. They feature navy blue jerseys, pants and helmets and are meant as a 'modern throwback' to the San Diego Chargers' look from 1992 to 2006 — a span that included the organization's only Super Bowl appearance, following the 1994 season. 'When you saw that jersey, more than likely you were in Qualcomm Stadium,' retired running back LaDainian Tomlinson, who played for the Chargers from 2001 to 2009, said in the team's news release. 'And, more than likely, if you were on the other team in that era you were leaving with a loss.' The Super Chargers uniforms will debut during the team's 'Thursday Night Football' game against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 23, the same night the Chargers will be inducting former safety Rodney Harrison into the team's Hall of Fame. The uniforms will be worn again Nov. 30 against the Las Vegas Raiders.
USA Today
27-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bengals draft 'Derwin James clone' in new NFL mock draft
Bengals draft 'Derwin James clone' in new NFL mock draft The Cincinnati Bengals need to nail their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. Now that the team has thrown the big cap spend at wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, one has to think the draft will go toward addressing the rebuilding defense around new (returning) coordinator Al Golden. Many NFL mock drafts have the Bengals doing just that, though few are as intriguing as the latest effort from ESPN's Matt Miller, who has them staying put at No. 17 and taking South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori: "The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Emmanwori is a Derwin James Jr. clone in size, strength, speed and playmaking ability. Emmanwori put on a show at the combine, running a 4.38 40 and leaping 43 inches in the vertical and 11-foot-6 in the broad jump. He also produced on tape in 2024, with four interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) and 88 tackles. Line him up at free or strong safety and let him spy Lamar Jackson twice a season." Bengals fans might cringe a little at the idea of a Round 1 safety after how things went with Dax Hill as the supposed Jessie Bates replacement. But it's pretty hard to complain about a prospect who so closely echoes Derwin James Jr., one of the best in the NFL since his arrival in 2018 and multi-time All-Pro selection. If the Bengals can nail a safety pick to run with Geno Stone and Jordan Battle while Hill and other upside players stick at cornerback, it puts a massively high ceiling on the secondary.
