AFC quarterback Tyler Huntley of the Baltimore Ravens competes in the Precision Passing event during the Pro Bowl Games skills events on Thursday in Henderson, Nev. (Gregory Payan, AP)
Say what you want about Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley getting a berth to appear in Sunday’s Pro Bowl game in Las Vegas. No, his season isn’t what you’d typically have in mind for such an honor. He was a fourth alternate who got into the game due to a wave of injuries. He made five starts, including the playoffs, and ended the regular season with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Stuff happens sometimes.
But here’s what’s cool about it: Huntley’s presence in the Pro Bowl is a jumping off point for some noteworthy quarterback discussion both in South Florida and the NFL.
On Sunday, two local quarterbacks, Huntley, who attended Hallandale High, and Seattle’s Geno Smith, who attended Miramar High, will appear in the Pro Bowl. That’s noteworthy progress for the Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade area, a tri-county region known for producing NFL talent at almost every position but quarterback.
Huntley and Smith are two of six NFL quarterbacks this season who hailed from South Florida, joining the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson (Boynton Beach High), Miami Dolphins’ Teddy Bridgewater (Miami Northwestern High), Cleveland Browns’ Jacoby Brissett (Dwyer High), and the New York Jets’ Mike White (University School).
Five of the six NFL quarterbacks from South Florida are Black, and both of the area’s Pro Bowl quarterbacks are Black.
Black quarterbacks are doing big things locally and nationally.
Next week, for the first time, two Black quarterbacks — Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes — will start in the Super Bowl. That’s noteworthy progress for the NFL and Black quarterbacks, seven of whom have previously started a Super Bowl (Washington’s Doug Williams, Tennessee’s Steve McNair, Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb, San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick, Seattle’ Russell Wilson, Carolina’s Cam Newton, and Mahomes).
I started watching football in the early ‘70s.
It’s been during my lifetime, during the time I was in high school and college, that for the most part, football leadership at all levels — high school, college and pro — didn’t think Blacks had the mental capacity to play quarterback.
Times are changing.
Five Black quarterbacks made playoff starts this season — Hurts, Mahomes, Huntley, Smith and Dallas’ Dak Prescott.
Eleven Black quarterbacks were Opening Day starters in 2022.
Three Black quarterbacks have won the NFL MVP award in the past seven years — Jackson in 2019, Mahomes in 2018, and Newton in 2015.
Three of the seven quarterbacks at Saturday’s Senior Bowl are Black (Louisville’s Malik Cunningham, BYU’s Jaren Hall, and Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker, who isn’t playing due to a knee injury).
Three Black quarterbacks (Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson) are projected as first-round picks in April’s NFL draft.
This represents progress and opportunity.
The NFL isn’t synonymous with racial equality on many fronts, including quarterback. It still has a long way to go.
But with Mahomes and Hurts starting in the Super Bowl, and the progress we’re seeing among the overall number of Black NFL quarterbacks, it’s good to see, especially during Black History Month, that the league has come a long way.
That brings us back to the six South Florida NFL quarterbacks.
As I said earlier, five are Black.
White is … well, I’ll let you finish that sentence.
We can still joke, right?
But seriously, having six NFL quarterbacks from a region known for producing at almost every position but quarterback is significant.
Those South Florida quarterbacks also represent progress.
Consider their playing styles and stories. Each made at least one start this season, and they’re not all cut from the same cloth. They’re not all running quarterbacks or drop-back passers or dual-threat guys. They didn’t all come from top high school programs or attend big-time colleges.
Jackson, the dual-threat guy, is a former MVP, the best of the bunch and is deservedly seeking a new contract worth more than $200 million.
Smith, the drop-back passer, was almost written off before finding success this season.
Bridgewater, the eight-year veteran, came back from a devastating knee injury earlier in his career.
White plays quarterback in one of the world’s toughest markets and played against Buffalo this season with cracked ribs.
Huntley spent most of the season as a backup behind one of the league’s top quarterbacks, Jackson, before being pressed into action due to Jackson’s injury for December and January games, the most important games of the season.
Brissett, a five-game starter for his hometown Dolphins in 2021, was an 11-game starter for Cleveland this season until embattled starter Deshaun Watson returned from his suspension and took over.
It’s nice to know South Florida is producing all kinds of quarterbacks with all kinds of career arcs.
Take a glimpse at the Pro Bowl on Sunday.
Yeah, I know … it’s freakin’ flag football. But let’s give it a chance.
You never know.
You might see something you like, maybe even in one of those two South Florida quarterbacks.
If nothing else, perhaps you’ll see Smith and Huntley and be reminded of progress Black quarterbacks have made on a few levels.
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Originally published at Tribune News Service