LOOK GREAT, PLAY GREAT: NFL Week 9’s Best Tunnel Fits
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We’re at the halfway mark of the 2025 NFL season. The state of the league is much different than when we began the season back in September, but that’s to be expected. Some things haven’t really surprised us, such as the New York Jets' abysmal start or the Washington Commanders' once again allowing their star sophomore QB to get hurt. The last one stings a bit as this author is a DC sports fan, but let's focus on the task at hand.
The end of each week’s matchups means that Sole Retriever gets to scour the tunnel fit photos from pre-game for the best sneakers as part of our LOOK GREAT, PLAY GREAT series. Like weeks prior, we’ve listed our starting 11 below, with even more on our Instagram, where you can also peep the best cleats.
Abdul Carter
Even as a Commanders fan, this author has to admit that the stars of the New York Giants have plenty of drip. No Cam Skattebo or Malik Nabers due to their season-ending injuries, sorry Giants fans. We do have a full roster to look at though, and that includes rookie linebacker Abdul Carter. He pulled up to the Giants matchup against the 49ers in a pair of the adidas Harden Vol. 9s in Red Metallic.
Bobby Hart
You can’t ignore the impact of Virgil Abloh. Even though the fashion world has largely moved past the hardcore Off-White aesthetic of the late 2010s, Abloh’s sneaker collaborations with Nike will live on forever. Bobby Hart seems to agree as the Chargers offensive tackle rocked a pair of the blacked-out MoMA Off-White x Nike Air Force 1 Low.
Carson Vinson
Finding a pair of Yeezys in public isn’t as rare as you might think, but athletes have really strayed away from the brand since the end of the partnership. With that, we have to highlight when a player chooses to rock some adidas Yeezy as Carson Vinson of the Baltimore Ravens did when he wore the Yeezy 700 MNVN in the Geode colorway. Fun fact, the sneaker was designed by the legendary Christian Tresser, designer of the Air Max 97 and other classics, who just returned to The Swoosh to work for Jordan Brand.
Darious Williams
When the weather changes outside and we approach the holiday season, you know that Jordan Brand is prepped to drop their annual Air Jordan 11. For 2025, the brand is celebrating the impact of MJ through nine different colorways, but one is clearly the general release. That’s of course the Gamma Blue AJ 11. Darious Williams decided to rock the sneaker ahead of the Rams' matchup against the Saints, but look closely. The patent leather mudguard is definitely the lower cut from the 2013 pair… Someone should tell Williams the sneaker is coming back next month.
James Proche
It’s safe to say that most, if not all, Sneaker of the Year lists will place the Undefeated x Air Jordan 4 near the top. The mythical holy grail of sneaker culture was once limited to just 72 pairs in 2005, but now there are thousands and thousands of them out in the wild. James Proche of the Tennessee Titans was one of the lucky ones to get the pair, and he wore them ahead of the team's game against the Chargers.
Jared Goff
Nigel Sylvester’s Air Jordan 4 Brick by Brick is the de facto pick for the Sneaker of the Year award across personal and media-crafted lists. However, the BMX star and Jordan Brand athlete also dropped a great Air Jordan 1 Retro Low OG collab themed after his F&F AJ 1 High. Jared Goff prefers the more lowkey sneaker as he was spotted with it before the Lions game against the Vikings.
Kyren Williams
Supreme is back. You really can’t use the same old “Supreme is dead” line anymore when the renewed interest around the NYC streetwear titan is palpable through social media posts and big lineups for their latest drops. Kyren Williams seems to be a fan of the brand as the Rams’ running back wore the Supreme x Nike SB Dunk Low Rammellzee before he faced off against the Saints.
Rashod Bateman
Back-to-back Supreme collabs? What is this 2015? Like we said, people are digging Supreme again, but you shouldn’t have ignored their footwear collab output in the 2020s. Last year, Supreme dropped a pack of Timberland Field Boots with exotic prints, one of which was coated in black and white zebra stripes. Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Rashod Bateman was spotted wearing this pair before the Ravens' Thursday Night Football matchup against the Dolphins.
Trevis Gipson
While OG colorways of the Jordan 4 will always reign supreme, there have been quite a few new renditions that have become hits amongst sneakerheads. One of these is the Infrared Air Jordan 4, which launched in 2022. The pair features an upper not too far off from the Cool Grey color palette, but accents this with infrared pops on the wing eyelets, tongue, and Jumpman. Panthers linebacker Trevis Gipson was spotted wearing this pair before his game against the Packers.
Tylan Wallace
Jordan 13s definitely need more love from the sneaker community. OG heads and those who appreciate the history of MJ’s original 14 sneakers know how great the model is, but we don’t get too many retros nowadays. Luckily, next year we’re expecting a few original AJ 13s to come back, including the Chicago. Some call it “True Red” or “Cherry,” but we’ll stick to the Chicago nomenclature. Tylan Wallace of the Ravens ends up as the third player from Baltimore to enter this week's list by rocking the last retro of the AJ 13 Chicago.
Von Miller
Not to be mean, but Von Miller is still in the league? Sometimes we forget that the veteran linebacker plays for the Commanders at 36 years old, but he certainly doesn’t let his age affect his style off the field. Miller was spotted entering the Commander Sunday night game in a pair of the Satoshi Nakamoto Vans Old Skools, a pair that right now fetches $1,200 on secondary marketplaces like StockX.
Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. When not writing for Sole Retriever, I enjoy attending concerts and catching the latest movies. Email: nick@soleretriever.com
