The prevalence of African American quarterbacks (QBs) in the National Football League (NFL) has caused fans and pundits alike to deem this the post-racial era for the position at the professional level.  A year ago, our friends at the Undefeated declared “The Year of the Black QB.”i  My take, to quote one of my favorite football TV personalities, ESPN’s Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friends!”

 For our younger readers who may not be aware, even after professional football was fully integrated in 1962, Blacks were deemed “unsuitable” for the QB position for a variety of declared reasons that masked the true rationale, racism.ⁱⁱ The 2019 season however, was indeed a breakout year for Black NFL QBs. Five of the top 10 QBs in Total QB Rating or QBR (ESPN’s quarterback rating metric) were Black, and so were four of the six Pro Bowl QBs.ⁱⁱⁱ Additionally, even by the most conservative estimates, eight of the NFL’s 32 teams will likely start a Black QB in the upcoming 2020 season.^iv While this success is noteworthy, we will not have moved past the NFL’s racist history when it comes to QBs until two things occur.

First and foremost, starting Black QBs must be allowed to be average when compared to other starters. The unprecedented 2019 season, which saw game-changing QBs like Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray continue to redefine the position, shows that Black QBs can indeed win a starting job in the NFL, but in order to do so, they can’t just be average, they have to be extraordinary or transformational in some way. Having to be better in order to be equal is not a new concept when it comes to race in America, and the surge in African American QBs, while meaningful, is more evidence this standard is still alive in the NFL’s subconscious. Let’s go back to the total QBR stat where half of the NFLs top 10 QBs were Black in 2019. There were only three other Black QBs to qualify for the stat and the lowest was ranked 21 of the 30 QBs on ESPN’s list of qualifiers.^v Put simply, Blacks can play QB in the NFL, but they have to be nearly transcendent talents to do so. In addition to Mahomes, Jackson, and Murray, QBs like Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson further prove this point. The Black QB will have truly arrived in the NFL when I look up one day and say, “Who the hell is he?” when a Black QB takes the field for a team languishing in the standings, something I’ve shouted many times as I’ve watched the likes of Gardner Minshew and Mitch Trubisky step behind center, both average QBs arguably worthy of starting for their teams at some point, but not transcendent. When African Americans can be included in the ranks of retread or journeyman starting QBs, we shall have overcome. As of yet, I’m still waiting for the Black Ryan Fitzpatrick, or a dreadlocked Case Keenum. The 2020 season might see Black QBs break the plexiglass floor of starting QB mediocrity with the signing of Cam Newton to the Patriots, Dwayne Haskins’ sophomore campaign with Washington, and Tyrod Taylor’s first year with the Chargers without Phillip Rivers. But even those examples don’t quite fit the “can we be average too” mold. Between them, Newton, Haskins, and Taylor were all either first round picks (Newton, Haskins), led their teams to the playoffs (Newton, Taylor), started in a Super Bowl (Newton), or was a league MVP (Newton).  In the coming years, the careers of players like Jacoby Brissett (Colts), Teddy Bridgewater (Panthers), and Taylor will collectively serve as a litmus test for the so called post-racial era at the QB position.  

Secondly, we can declare a post-racial era for NFL QBs when the way we think about QBs of all races is no longer constricted by racially influenced categories, labels, and stereotypes. The most notable example of this is on the category front where the “dual threat” category has been invented to help us come to grips with QBs, many of whom are Black, who can run for yards as well as they can throw for yards. I say “come to grips” with this phenomenon to highlight the absurdity of the dual threat category. I spent over two decades in the military where my primary duty was analyzing adversary weapons that posed a threat to our forces. If a weapon had the ability to threaten us in not just one but two ways, we did not invent a new category for that threat, we simply described it as a greater threat. While it is completely fair to think less overall of a QB whose ability to pass is sub-standard despite having a superb ability to run, we should avoid the mental gymnastics required to mark a QB as below average overall if they are an average thrower, but an extraordinary runner. Yes, the prospect of injury arguably increases when a QB runs, but the best QBs on the run are smart about it and find ways to avoid the big hit. Also, as the Undefeated has pointed out, mobile QBs are in greater demand as the speed of edge rushers continues to increase without an appreciable decrease in their size.^vi The QBR statistic itself is a manifestation of this evolution at the QB position. Unlike the NFL’s official metric for QBs, the Passer Rating (sometimes referred to as the QB Rating), which only accounts for passing, ESPN’s QBR integrates running and passing for a more a complete measure of QBs.^vii

White QBs have also fallen victim to the racial stereotyping involved with how we think of QBs. Outstanding White QBs have long been labeled the “field general” or “the coach between the hashes,” descriptors Black QBs, even Mahomes, have found elusive. Mahomes, by the way, is called “magical” instead; he has yet to pull out of his hat however, adjectives related to how smart he is on the field for gameday announcers and pundits to use. But White QBs who are gifted runners constantly have their athleticism either overlooked or marked with qualifiers. Josh Allen, the starting QB for the Buffalo Bills, is a good example. He’s consistently described as deceptively fast or “sneaky fast” as one ESPN headline put it.^viii So, how is Allen being sneaky or deceptive about his speed? Is he hacking into the various NFL Combine webpages and changing his 40-yard dash time to hide the fact that he ran the third fastest time of any QB in 2018 before he was drafted?^ix Or did he sabotage the algorithms at the NFL’s NextGen Stats division so his touchdown run against Minnesota two years ago would not be ranked the 14th fastest run by any player that year at more than 20 miles per hour.^x No, Allen is “sneaky fast” simply because he is White.

The jury is still out on whether the upcoming 2020 NFL regular season will even take place for each team in its typical 16-game, 17-week fashion. The COVID-19 pandemic has yet to render its final verdict. The jury is also still out on whether or not we have moved past our history of race-based views on the QB position. We can stand under center in the game-ending victory formation on this debate when two things happen: Black QBs repeatedly enter the ranks of the “average starter,” and referee stripes is the only place where black and white matters.

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ⁱ Moskovitz, D., Reid, J., Johnson, M., The Undefeated, Jr., K., Rhoden, W., . . . Gramling, A. (n.d.). Year of the Black QB. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://theundefeated.com/tag/year-of-the-black-qb/

ⁱⁱ Basen, R. (2012, October 06). Fifty Years Ago, Last Outpost of Segregation in N.F.L. Fell. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/sports/football/50-years-ago-redskins-were-last-nfl-team-to-integrate.html

ⁱⁱⁱ 2019 NFL Season Leaders Total QBR. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.espn.com/nfl/qbr

^iv Oyefusi, D. (2020, January 08). 'It's a big deal': With young black quarterbacks on the rise, Ravens' Lamar Jackson having season for the ages. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bs-sp-ravens-jackson-black-quarterbacks-20200108-yf7c5mm3jvey3nmjsnbtctq4o4-story.html

^v 2019 NFL Season Leaders Total QBR. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.espn.com/nfl/qbr

^vi Reid, J. (2019, September 03). Welcome to the Year of the Black Quarterback. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://theundefeated.com/features/welcome-to-the-year-of-the-black-quarterback/

^vii Radcliffe, J. (2019, October 21). Aaron Rodgers had a 'perfect game' by passer rating Sunday. How is it calculated? Is it even a good metric? Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/nfl/packers/2019/10/21/aaron-rodgers-had-perfect-passer-rating-sunday-how-does-work/4048118002/; In Bangkok, Bill. (2018, March 13). The 5 O'Clock Club: The difference between passer rating and quarterback rating. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.hogshaven.com/2018/3/13/16839982/5-oclock-club- difference-nfl-passer-rating-and-quarterback-rating-redskins-alex-smith-kirk-cousins

^viii Rodak, M. (2018, December 03). 'Sneaky-fast' Josh Allen suddenly among NFL's best QB rushers. Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://www.espn.com/blog/buffalo-bills/post/_/id/32650/sneaky-fast-josh-allen-suddenly-among-nfls- best-qb-rushers

^ix NFL Combine Results. (2018). Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://nflcombineresults.com/nflcombinedata_expanded.php?year=2018&pos=QB&college

^x NGS: NFL Next Gen Stats. (n.d.). Retrieved August 21, 2020, from https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/stats/top- plays/fastest-ball-carriers/2018/3