It seems like Black QB's make history every couple of weeks. When Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts faced off in the Super Bowl, it was the first time in history two Black QBs started in the big game. When Hurts signed his new contract in April, he signed the biggest contract in NFL history. Not even a month later, Lamar Jackson's new contract became the new most expensive ever, well at the time. Over the weekend, Tyrod Taylor, who was starting in place of Daniel Jones, made history by becoming the first Black QB to ever win a game for the New York Football Giants.
What makes this moment even more interesting is the Giant's history with Black Quarterbacks. The Giants are one of the oldest franchises in the league as they were founded 98 years ago. In those 98 years, they have only started two Black QBs, which is the fewest in the league. They were also the last NFL team to start a Black QB, which happened in 2017 when Geno Smith started one game for them. Now six years later and two more starts, they finally get a win with a Black QB. The question now is will Taylor get the chance to become the first Black QB to lead the Giants to the playoffs? He without a doubt deserves it.
Taylor has been in this exact position before. Back in 2017, Taylor was the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. He helped end the Buffalo Bills 17-year postseason drought when they made the playoffs with him leading the way after he went 4-2 in Buffalo’s final six games. Then in 2020, tragedy struck. Taylor finally was brought in as the face of a franchise when the Los Angeles Chargers signed him as their starting QB. In Week 2 of that very season, Taylor went in to get a painkilling injection to help with his cracked ribs, and the doctor accidentally punctured his lung during the injection. This forced Taylor to lose his starting job and he would never reclaim it. Now in New York, he's getting the opportunity that was stolen from him, but unfortunately it might not last long because of white privilege.
White privilege has been the driving force for Daniel Jones since the day he was drafted. He was a very average college QB during his days at Duke. Nobody expected him to be drafted in the first round that year, let alone the top 10. But he was the best 'white' QB available, and he shared the same QB coach as Giants' legend Eli Manning, so the Giants decided to reach and draft him with the sixth overall pick. hoping he would become their next Eli.
To say his professional career has been disappointing would be an understatement. In his 58 games, he has a record of 22-35-1. Out of the four full years he has played, he only has one winning season. And he has racked up 40 interceptions since he was drafted. And to put the cherry on the cake, after putting up these terrible numbers across four years, the Giants decided to double down on him and pay him $140 million. If this doesn't reek of white privilege, then what does?
But the Giants have a chance to correct all that, and they don't have to wait until the NFL Draft to do so. Even though it has only been two games, it's clear as day who the best QB on the Giants is, and it's not the one who they gave generational money to. Taylor has won support of his coaches, has won support of his teammates, and he has won the same amount of games as Jones did before his injury. One. Jones has been cleared from injury, but they need to keep him on the bench. New York Giants finally got the proverbial 'Black QB' monkey off their back, and it would be in the Giants' best interest to lean into one, which is Taylor, for once in their history.
