49ers to wear all gold for Thursday night Color Rush game?

For several days, there has been a "rumored" leak circulating of the color schemes to for each NFL team's Nike Color Rush uniforms. Love it or hate it, you probably remember the Color Rush from last season, which was limited to just eight teams during four Thursday Night Football matchups. Those included the infamous Christmas themed matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets, which confused the heck out of some color blind fans. Then there was the mustards versus the ketchups game between the then St. Louis Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Detroit Lions president Rod Wood revealed in late March that Color Rush would be returning in 2016. He also stated that each team's uniform would be revealed when the schedule was released last week. That did not occur. "All teams that play on Thursday this year will wear a Color Rush uniform," Wood said.

We've hesitated on posting the potential leak for a number of reasons. One, the reliability of the source is unknown. Two, the leak is said to be from weeks ago, prior to the NFL schedule even being released. That means that the Thursday night matchups had not yet been determined. NFL Leaks, who first posted the chart, has even said that the color schemes may change before they are officially announced. Three, some of the color choices seem odd and a bit unbelievable. Apparently the Cincinnati Bengals will look like zebras and it's anyone's guess as to what the Baltimore Ravens are wearing. Oh, and the Oakland Raiders wearing all gold may be an unpopular choice among their fan base given the rivalry with the other Bay Area team. Four, the chart contains 30 teams on one panel and then reportedly (by NFL Leaks), two others on another. It seems odd that someone would design a chart and not be able to fit all 32 teams on one page, forcing them to throw the extra two on a second.

However, the leak has been circulating numerous sites, including some mainstream ones like CBS Sports, and has been a good conversation piece for days. Some fans may be interested in taking a look at it – if you have not seen it already. It is everywhere. We just ask that you take it for what it is worth, which is an unfounded rumor. One that even the originator of the leak says may not be the final version.

If this chart is to be believed, what does this mean for the San Francisco 49ers? According to the chart, they will wear gold. Most likely all gold to go along with their helmets. The problem with this scenario is that they host the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday, October 6. What is the Cardinals' Color Rush color scheme? It's yellow, which someone has already mocked up. This is unlikely to happen given the somewhat similar color schemes and if it did, get ready for jokes about a matchup between yellow and brown mustard. The chart does state that "same color matchups" will result in a color change for one team. That likely applies to very similar colors as well.

Of course, we won't know how accurate this leak is – if at all – until the NFL officially unveils each team's Color Rush uniform. Last season, the 49ers debuted all black uniforms and wore them during two home games. Those uniforms, like the Color Rush, had very mixed reactions from fans.

While the color shown for the Steelers is yellow, Pittsburgh president Art Rooney has already said his team will wear all white or all black for Color Rush. This chart was said to be created prior to the release of the NFL schedule, so some matchup colors, like the 49ers and the Cardinals, just may not work. The Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers can't both wear blue and the Oakland Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs will have the same issue as the 49ers-Cardinals matchup.

We'll probably learn more about the true color schemes for each team as the season gets closer. Of course, the home teams will get their first choice of colors, so if the 49ers absolutely love the idea of all gold uniforms, then it will have to be the Cardinals that change their color scheme.