‘Blue-42’ is the New Black
Black quarterbacks are dominating the NFL, and they aren’t leaving anytime soon.
Growing up, I always played quarterback for my peewee football teams. I dreamed of one day strapping up the pads and marching my team down the field on the biggest stage. I wore high-top cleats like Cam Newton, an arm sleeve like Robert Griffin III, and rocked #7 on my jersey like Michael Vick. They were my idols, my role models. They were the athletes who’s highlight videos I’d watch before every single game. For a black kid like me, they served as beacons of hope, examples that the odds could be defied as a black quarterback.
Nowadays, I just talk about the game. But this NFL season has provided a platform for black field generals who look like me like never before in history. As it stands currently, an unprecedented 31% of the league’s starting quarterbacks are black; that is nearly a third of the NFL. In the wake of the success of these black signal callers, many analysts have crowned the 2019–20 NFL season as the “Year of the Black Quarterback”
I’m here to tell you that this is no flash in the pan, no perfect alignment of the stars. The black quarterback has emerged, and he’s here to stay.
This isn’t necessarily anything new; black quarterbacks have shined before. Warren Moon, hailing from the CFL, put up elite passing numbers for over a decade. Randall Cunningham dazzled fans with his high-flying acrobatics and grace. Michael Vick left defenses moving in slow-motion with his revolutionarily elite scrambling ability. Never before, however, have there been this many black quarterbacks excelling at the same time.
The NFL is a quarterback driven league, so it is no surprise that six of the top seven current MVP candidates are field generals; however, what is a new development is the fact that five of these six are African American (Also part of the top seven is Christian McCaffrey, a white running back, but that’s another article for another day). Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, and Dak Prescott, have all separated themselves this season among the elite of the elite.
Aside from the pre-eminent signal callers, many other black quarterbacks have firmly established themselves as starting caliber players in the NFL. Kyler Murray, in just his first season in Arizona, has been everything as advertised, and has taken a stranglehold on the starting job for the Cardinals. Former league MVP Cam Newton, once healthy again, projects as a top tier starter (although it may not be in Carolina). Jameis Winston, interceptions and all, has begun to show glimpses of flourishing under offensive guru Bruce Arians, placing second in the NFL in passing yards and sixth in passing touchdowns thus far. Jacoby Brissett has proven himself in filling the enormous shoes of Andrew Luck, leading the Colts to playoff contention. Teddy Bridgewater and Tyrod Taylor, though backups, have proven themselves as capable starters in the past and could easily find themselves as leading field generals next season.
And Dwayne Haskins… well he has some potential, right? Wait, where is Dwayne? Taking another selfie? Ah, they can’t all be winners.
But the true reason why this season won’t be the only “year of the black quarterback” is simple: there are more coming. The NFL is experiencing an influx of African American talent like it has never seen before. Each draft, it seems, there are at least one or two black field generals that are not only capable of making a roster, but becoming franchise cornerstones. This year, Heisman candidates Jalen Hurts and Tyler Huntley are absolutely obliterating opposing defenses, and have undoubtedly played their way into the first or second days of the draft. Next season, Justin Fields and D’Eriq King are two dynamic signal callers who will have opportunities to make an impact on NFL rosters. Behind them, the list goes on and on and on… and on.
Spencer Rattler, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jayden Daniels, Adrian Martinez, Justin Rogers, James Blackman, Kellen Mond, Micale Cunningham, and Feleipe Franks, just to name a few.
The trend doesn’t stop at college, either. Looking to high school prospects, black quarterbacks are representing themselves at the top of their recruiting classes in greater and greater numbers. Guys like Bryce Young (five stars), Caleb Williams (four stars), and Shedeur Sanders (four stars) are commanding attention from some of the top schools in the country. Of the 2022 class’s top six signal callers, three are African American.
Not all of these guys will take an NFL snap. Hell, some of them might not even take college snaps. But their presence signals a long-awaited and far overdue change in quarterback evaluation. It gives hope to the black peewee football players out there who have more guys than ever before to look up to. It is a siren, blaring from the top of the football mountains, to everyone: the black quarterback has arrived.
And he ain’t going anywhere.
