Signing Russ, Jameis Exposes Giants’ Poor History With Black QBs

On Tuesday morning, the Giants announced the signing of journeyman quarterback, Jameis Winston. A few hours later, the team announced they had also signed veteran QB Russell Wilson.

The two signings on the same day wasn’t much of a shock as the team needed a quarterback, and those were two of the best available.

But the team signing not one but two Black quarterbacks, especially on the same day, was a big shock if you knew about the team’s history with Black QBs, which isn’t a good one.

Almost eight years ago, on December 3rd, 2017, Geno Smith was given the start over Eli Manning, who had started 210 consecutive games in a tenure that dated back to 2010. That decision by then-Giants head coach Ben McAdoo was met with anger as he ended Manning’s streak with only five games remaining in the season.

But that decision actually ended two major streaks.

The first was Manning’s record for consecutive starts by a QB (he now sits in third behind Phillip Rivers, 240, and Brett Favre, 297).

The second was when Geno took the field, the Giants became the last of the 32 NFL teams in NFL history to start a Black QB.

Understand that that took place only 8 years ago.

But the team’s poor history with Black signal-callers didn’t end there.

On October 22nd, 2023, Tyrod Taylor started for the Giants at MetLife Stadium and led them to a 14-7 win over the Washington Commanders.

That win made Tyrod Taylor the first Black quarterback to ever win a game for the Giants.

The Giants began in the NFL in 1925, and Taylor’s history-making performance occurred just two years ago. Think about that.

Now, two years after Taylor made history, the Giants signed two Black QBs on the same day, with Wilson the probable starter.

What’s even more interesting is that the Giants might draft Shedeur Sanders at the 2025 NFL Draft next month, giving the team three Black QBs.

If that happens, and Sanders ends up starting during the 2025 season, he would be the first Black QB drafted by the Giants to ever get a start, not just in his rookie season, but the first Black QB drafted by the Giants to ever get a start in his career with the Giants, period!

The team did draft Kentucky QB Andre Woodson in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft, but he was waived during final cuts, signed to the practice squad and ultimately released in October of that year without ever playing a game for the team.

So while signing Russ and Jameis were great moves by a team in need of quarterback help, the signings also exposed the team’s poor history regarding Black QBs.

And the possible addition of Shedeur in April, which would be a good selection, would most certainly bring that ugly history back into the spotlight.