Justin Fields, Malik Willis and the efficacy of the second chance for Black quarterbacks
Earlier this summer when the NFL released its schedule for the 2024-25 season, the date that caught my mind was Sept. 15: the Pittsburgh Steelers going to Denver to play the Broncos. I immediately circled the date and made my plans to attend. This would be Russell Wilson’s revenge game.
After 10 seasons in Seattle, which included two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl victory, Wilson was traded to Denver. This was before Sean Payton became the Broncos head coach. Wilson and Payton were never on the same page, and Wilson was benched with two games left to go in the season.
As it turns out, Justin Fields — who was traded from Chicago to Pittsburgh in March — would end up making the start against Denver on Sunday. The Steelers announced that 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 and that includes Sunday’s 13-6 victory over the Broncos.
When Fields addressed reporters after Sunday’s game, he mentioned that Wilson had received the petty game ball. The petty game ball is something Tomlin presents when the Steelers beat a particular player’s former team.
I felt that Wilson was disrespected by the Broncos organization and also by Payton. Apparently, Fields felt the same way. After Sunday’s game in Denver, Fields offered his candid thoughts about what happened with Wilson in Denver. “I think we all know Russ kinda got done dirty last year,” Fields said. “I know he know he wishes he could have played today’s game, but it was awesome getting this win for him.”
Fields is making a strong case to remain the Steelers starter even when Wilson is ready to come back. In his first two games of the season, he has led Pittsburgh to wins over Atlanta and now Denver. But on Sunday, Fields seemed to suggest he was more interested in respecting an elder like Wilson who had accomplished so much for Black quarterbacks in the league.
Sunday was another great day for Fields, who is on his own reclamation tour after three controversial years in Chicago where he was essentially jettisoned and traded to Pittsburgh to compete with Wilson for the starting job.
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Of all the landing spots mention for Fields, I felt that Pittsburgh was the best situation. The Steelers are a solid organization. In Pittsburgh, not only would the 25-year-old Fields be mentored by the 35-year-old Russell Wilson, but he would have Mike Tomlin as his head coach. Wilson and Fields are at different junctures of their careers and have different missions. Wilson was a Super Bowl winner and certain Hall of Fame inductee who wants to end his career on a high note. Fields is simply trying to accomplish what Wilson has already achieved. In Pittsburgh, each quarterback could reclaim their respective careers: Wilson as the dignified elder statesman and Fields as the talented young quarterback who simply needed a second chance.
Chicago became toxic for Fields, who faced nonstop criticism — some of it deserved — because of the normal growing pains of learning how to play this complicated position. He still has to work on reading defenses and not holding the ball too long, but he’s playing with confidence.
Now, Fields has a fresh start. This might be one of the underappreciated aspects of the emergence of Black quarterbacks: the all-important second chance, the new lease on life.
There was a time in the evolution Black quarterbacks that there was barely a first opportunity, let alone a second chance, to play the position. The beauty of what we see in the league now is that there are so many different configurations of African American quarterbacks. There are Black quarterbacks competing with and backing up other Black quarterbacks, and on any given Sunday there will be multiple games with two Black quarterbacks facing off against each other.
The theme of reclamation and second chances was highlighted in Green Bay on Sunday where Malik Willis, a 2022 third-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans, stepped in and saved the day. Just 19 days after trading for Willis, the Packers were forced to play him in place of Jordan Love who was injured in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles. Willis, like Fields did not have a great run with the team that drafted him. In many ways, Willis’ career was defined by a disastrous start against the Kansas City Chiefs a couple years ago when he was clearly overmatched.
But on Sunday, Willis stepped into the starting role and helped Green Bay win 16-10 against the Indianapolis Colts, a team that has its own spectacular Black quarterback (Anthony Richardson).
Willis wasn’t spectacular but he made plays when they had to be made and used his athletic ability to get out of trouble and keep drives alive. Willis completed 12-of-14 passes, averaged 8.7 yards per attempt, threw a third-down touchdown pass and rushed for 41 yards. He did not turn the ball over and he did not take a sack in the Packers’ win.
After the game, Packers head coach Matt LeFleur praised Willis in a way that years ago Black quarterbacks would never have been praised.
“I don’t think you guys can appreciate or even comprehend the task that Malik Willis … this guy got here three weeks ago,” he said. “For him to go out there and command our offense — we still had a lot of long calls, we had shifts, motions, a ton of different run schemes. There was a lot put on his plate. And for him to go out there and do what he did today, I think that speaks volumes of who he is as a person and the work he put in. I’m just super-proud of him.”
Willis will be relegated to the bench when Love returns, but he is in the process of revitalizing his career. Fields spent three very tumultuous years in Chicago before the organization decided it has seen enough and shipped him off to Pittsburgh. The elevation of Fields in Pittsburgh illustrates the depth of Black quarterbacks and the existence of second-chance opportunities to flourish.
When I look at the conversations, we’ve had about Black quarterbacks I think of the same conversations we used to have about Black middle linebackers and free safeties. These were the so-called thinking man’s positions that African Americans supposedly could not play. Over time, there were so many Black linebackers and free safeties that it became ridiculous to count.
This the state of affairs for Black quarterbacks in the NFL: there is depth and there are second chances. In Week 1, six Black QBs faced each other in five premier NFL games: Patrick Mahomes vs. Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts vs. Love, Dak Prescott vs. Deshaun Watson.
This will be a trend that continues. Only one question remains: When do we stop counting?