The National Football League begins its regular season this week and there will be a record number of black quarterbacks taking the field as starters.
There will be 16 black quarterbacks getting the starting assignment, beginning with Thursday’s opening night game with Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys. Hurts was the Most Valuable Player of last year’s Super Bowl after leading the Eagles to a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
It will break the record of 15 quarterbacks at the beginning of the 2024 season. It is also the first time that black quarterbacks represent more than half the league’s starters on opening day.
Joining Hurts and Prescott as Week 1 starters are Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens, Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals, Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears, Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers, CJ Stroud of the Houston Texans, Bryce Young of the Carolina Panthers, Geno Smith of the Las Vegas Raiders, Spencer Rattler of the New Orleans Saints, Russell Wilson of the New York Giants, Justin Fields of the New York Jets, 2005 Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders and current No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward of the Tennessee Titans.