It’s because they were trying to change me into something that I wasn’t. “When I got to the league, I was running the Wildcat, and that wasn’t my game. “Same thing coming out of college, I had minimal rushing yards,” he said. Smith had the prototypical size, strong arm, and accuracy of a traditional NFL quarterback, yet he felt pigeonholed in the Jets’ offense.

Leading up to the draft, a scouting report read that Smith was a “cross between Akili Smith and Aaron Brooks” - two black quarterbacks - and lacks “the football savvy, work habits and focus” to be a starting NFL quarterback, critically coded language of African American players’ intelligence and work ethic. But the racialized label stuck with Smith before and after he was selected 39th overall by the New York Jets in the 2013 draft. Smith would go on to rush for a grand total of 342 yards his entire four-year career at West Virginia. But scouting sites dubbed him a “dual-threat” quarterback - a loaded designation that normally applies to only black quarterbacks - even though he put up pedestrian rushing numbers during his career. And he was invited to the prestigious Elite 11 high school quarterback camp. He threw for more than 3,000 yards and 32 touchdowns in his final season at Miramar. It’s just about production.Īs an African American quarterback who has made it this far professionally, Smith is all too familiar with how people who look like him are judged at the game’s most important position.Ĭoming out of Miramar High School (Florida) in 2009, Smith was an All-American and state player of the year.

People aren’t looking at it that way anymore.

The world is changing and so it’s not your old 1960s, 1950s anymore. “I don’t think it’s about black and white anymore. “I think that it says that the league wants to win,” Smith said of the shift in perception of black quarterbacks. In other words, he has been allowed to be a modest backup like many white quarterbacks. But Smith, who in two years as a starter completed 57.5% of his passes and had nine more interceptions (34) than touchdowns (25), has maintained a seven-year career despite being neither of those things. In modern NFL history, backup black quarterbacks have typically been a former Pro Bowl-level starter (Michael Vick) or star college player who mostly used his legs (Troy Smith). Geno Smith (left) and Russell Wilson (right) of the Seattle Seahawks celebrate after a touchdown during the first half of the preseason game against the Oakland Raiders at CenturyLink Field on Aug. But it’s Smith’s mere presence on an NFL depth chart that signifies a sea change in the league as it pertains to African American quarterbacks. Smith has neither thrown nor completed a pass this season, let alone play a snap his lone notable accomplishment this season was winning a controversial coin toss call against the San Francisco 49ers on Nov. Robert Griffin III and Dwayne Haskins, in limited starts, filled in for or took over for their teams’ respective starters.Īnd then there’s Geno Smith, the emergency option for the Seattle Seahawks behind Wilson.

The New Orleans Saints’ Teddy Bridgewater filled in for starter Drew Brees for five weeks, leading the team to a perfect 5-0 record. With Andrew Luck suddenly retiring in late August, Jacoby Brissett stepped in to guide the Indianapolis Colts to the brink of the playoffs until a late-season losing streak. This season has also been the year of the backup black quarterback. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft.īut while records and stereotypes have been broken by this eclectic group of players, the success among black quarterbacks goes much deeper: And that’s to say nothing of the statistical seasons put forth by Dak Prescott, Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston (the 2019 leader in passing yards), or offensive rookie of the year candidate Kyler Murray, the No. Russell Wilson proved his worth as the highest-paid player in the NFL this year. Patrick Mahomes showed why he is the reigning MVP. Lamar Jackson is the strong MVP favorite. In the “Year of the Black Quarterback,” the stars have led the way. A series chronicling the rise of black quarterbacks in the NFL

Det lions backup qb