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If the Bengals get their way, the NFL's uniform policy could be undergoing a slight change this season. The Bengals are hoping to wear a different jersey with their white tiger helmets in 2023, and the only way that can happen is if the NFL is willing to budge on its uniform policy. 

When the NFL decided to let teams wear an alternate helmet starting with the 2022 season, that new rule came with a catch: The helmet can only be worn with a classic jersey, an alternate third jersey or a Color Rush jersey.

For the Bengals, that meant that they ended up wearing their white Color Rush jersey last season when they unveiled their white tiger helmets. 

This year, the Bengals want to wear their standard white uniform with their white tiger helmet, but that's currently against the rules (The biggest difference between the Bengals' Color Rush uniform and their white uniform is that the Color Rush jersey is mostly black in the shoulder area). 

In an effort to get the NFL to sign off on their request, the Bengals sent the league a letter this week. 

"To whom it may concern, we at the Cincinnati Bengals beseech you to allow the opportunity to wear our New Stripes White Uniform combo with our White Bengal helmet...."

The Bengals shared the letter as an Instagram story on Monday. 

Let's be real, the NFL should grant this request, if only because the Bengals used the word "beseech" in their letter, but also, the NFL should grant their request because the all-white combination would possibly go down as the coolest white uniforms in NFL history. 

A fan on Twitter made a mock-up of what it would look like if the Bengals were to wear their white helmets with their regular white uniforms, and you can see that below.

The tweet above was sent out on Sunday after the Bengals asked their fans what jersey combination they liked best. When a fan responded with that picture, the Bengals wrote back, "Oooo that would be cool." And then less than 24 hours later, they had a letter ready to go for the NFL. 

It seems kind of odd that the NFL won't let teams wear their alternate helmet with their regular uniform, so it will be interesting to see if the Bengals can get the league to change its mind on this topic. 

The NFL could also just make a special exception here that only applies to the Bengals. As the letter states, the Bengals are technically asking to "re-classify" their white uniform, which means they could be hoping that the league will allow their white jersey to become their alternate jersey. If the NFL approved that, then the Bengals could wear their white jersey with their white helmets and it wouldn't impact any other team. 

No matter which way this goes, the Bengals are going to need the league's approval to wear their white helmet with their white uniform.