Justin Fields, Malik Willis and the Effectiveness of Second Chance for Black Quarterbacks

Earlier this summer, when the NFL released its 2024-25 schedule, the date that caught my eye was September 15: The Pittsburgh Steelers were traveling to Denver to play the Broncos. I immediately circled the date and made plans to attend. It could be Russell Wilson’s rematch.

After 10 seasons in Seattle, including two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl win, Wilson was moved to Denver. This was before Sean Payton became the Broncos’ head coach. Wilson and Payton were never on the same page, and Wilson was cut from the lineup with two games remaining in the season.

As it seems, Justin Fields — who was traded from Chicago to Pittsburgh in March — was ultimately expected to begin Sunday’s game against Denver. The Steelers announced Wilson would start this season, but a nagging calf injury catapulted the 25-year-old Fields into the starting lineup.

Fields is 2-0 as a starter, including Sunday’s 13-6 win over the Broncos.

When Fields addressed reporters after Sunday’s game, he mentioned that Wilson had been given a petty game ball. A petty game ball is something Tomlin presents when the Steelers beat a selected player’s previous team.

I believed Wilson was disrespected by the Broncos organization, and by Payton as well. Fields clearly felt the same way. After Sunday’s game in Denver, Fields shared his candid thoughts on what happened to Wilson in Denver. “I think we all know Russ was treated a little unfairly last year,” Fields said. “I know he knows he wants to play in today’s game, but it was awesome to get the win for him.”

Fields makes a robust case for remaining the Steelers starter whilst Wilson is poised to return. He has led Pittsburgh to wins over Atlanta and now Denver in his first two games of the season. But Fields looked as if it would suggest Sunday that he’s more concerned with respect for the elder Wilson, who has achieved a lot for black quarterbacks in the league.

Sunday was one other great day for Fields, who’s returning to form after three controversial years in Chicago, where he was essentially kicked off the team and moved to Pittsburgh to compete with Wilson for a starting spot.

Of all the landing spots listed for Fields, I believed Pittsburgh was the best fit. The Steelers are a solid organization. In Pittsburgh, the 25-year-old Fields wouldn’t only be under the tutelage of the 35-year-old Russell Wilson, but he would even have Mike Tomlin as his head coach. Wilson and Fields are at different stages of their careers and have different missions. Wilson was a Super Bowl winner and a Hall of Famer trying to end his profession on a high note. Fields is just attempting to do what Wilson has already done. In Pittsburgh, either quarterback could reclaim his profession: Wilson as the dignified elder statesman, and Fields as the talented young quarterback who simply needed a second likelihood.

Chicago has change into toxic to Fields, who has faced constant criticism — some of it deserved — because of the normal struggles of learning the game at this complicated position. He still must work on reading defenses and not holding on to the ball too long, but he’s fiddling with confidence.

Now Fields has a fresh start. This could also be one of the underrated points of the emergence of black quarterbacks: the all-important second likelihood, a fresh start in life.

There was a time in the evolution of black quarterbacks where there was barely a primary opportunity, let alone a second, to play the position. The beauty of what we see in the league now’s that there are so many various configurations of black quarterbacks. There are black quarterbacks competing with and supporting other black quarterbacks, and on any given Sunday there will probably be multiple games where two black quarterbacks will face one another.

The theme of recovery and second probabilities was highlighted in Green Bay on Sunday, where Malik Willis, a third-round pick in 2022 by the Tennessee Titans, stepped in and saved the day. Just 19 days after trading Willis, the Packers were forced to begin him in place of Jordan Love, who was injured in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Willis, like Fields, has not had an awesome run with the team that drafted him. In some ways, Willis’ profession has been defined by a disastrous start against the Kansas City Chiefs a couple of years ago, when he was clearly an underdog.

But on Sunday, Willis stepped into the role of quarterback and helped Green Bay to a 16-10 win over the Indianapolis Colts, a team that has its own spectacular black quarterback (Anthony Richardson).

Willis wasn’t spectacular, but he made plays after they needed to be made and used his athleticism to get out of trouble and keep plays alive. Willis accomplished 12 of 14 passes, averaging 8.7 yards per attempt, threw a third-down pass and ran for 41 yards. He didn’t lose the ball or get sacked in the Packers’ win.

After the game, Packers head coach Matt LeFleur praised Willis in a way that black quarterbacks would never have received years ago.

“I don’t think you can appreciate or even comprehend the task that Malik Willis … that guy was given three weeks ago,” he said. “For him to go out there and run our offense — we still had a lot of long decisions, we had substitutions, we had moves, a lot of different running patterns. He had a lot on his plate. And for him to go out there and do what he did today, I think it says a lot about who he is as a person and the work he puts in. I’m just super proud of him.”

Willis will probably be relegated to the bench when Love returns, but he’s in the process of revitalizing his profession. Fields spent three tumultuous years in Chicago before the organization decided it had had enough and shipped him to Pittsburgh. Fields’ rise in Pittsburgh illustrates the depth of black quarterbacks and the existence of a second likelihood to flourish.

When I have a look at the conversations we had about black quarterbacks, I take into consideration the same conversations we had about black middle linebackers and free safeties. Those were the so-called thinker positions that African-Americans supposedly couldn’t play. Over time, there have been so many black linebackers and free safeties that it became ridiculous to count.

Here’s the state of affairs for black quarterbacks in the NFL: There’s depth and there are second probabilities. In Week 1, six black quarterbacks faced one another in five of the NFL’s biggest games: Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts vs. Love, Dak Prescott vs. Deshaun Watson.

This will probably be a trend that can proceed. Only one query stays: When will we stop counting?