It’s almost as if we told you.

In August, Andscape published its Cover Story on Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, his desire for perfection and his uncompromising mentality to obtain it. And what happened six months later? The 26-year-old made it to his second Super Bowl, this time avenging the team’s 2023 loss to Kansas City by taking home the Lombardi Trophy in a 40-22 win over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Hurts’ performance — 293 total yards and three touchdowns — was the cherry atop yet another season of Black excellence amongst the league’s quarterbacks. Long gone are the days of Black quarterbacks being considered less able, less than, or as … wide receivers. When you think of the best players at the position, it no longer looks like a crypto conference: We were one Mark Andrews drop away from Black quarterbacks taking up all four spots in the conference championship games.

MVP award or not, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson continued to revolutionize the position. The Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels rewrote the book on what rookie quarterbacks are capable of doing. And while Mahomes had one of his most difficult seasons of his eight-year career, the team still ended with a 15-2 regular-season record and a third-straight trip to the Super Bowl.

Below, we look at the five classes of Black NFL quarterbacks headed into the offseason. They range from those with ultimate job security (it’s still one person, and you know who he is) to those who still need to improve and those likely to change teams soon. We also look at the exciting crop of players on the horizon.

He’s likely on the clock

Russell Wilson: This feels a lot like déjà vu. Wilson was in this exact same position last year after flaming out in Denver, hoping a season in Pittsburgh could help turn his career around. It was a bit of a mixed bag for the 36-year-old, though, missing the first six weeks of the season due to a calf injury before helping the Steelers win six of their next seven games after his debut. But in the final five weeks of the season (including playoffs) the Steelers offense never scored more than 17 points in a game, and Wilson looked every bit his age down the stretch. Wilson’s backup, Justin Fields, started the first six games of the season (4-2 record), but the former Chicago Bears starter didn’t show enough as a passer to justify supplanting Wilson.

Geno Smith: I assumed last season was Smith’s final year as a Day 1 starter in the NFL after two solid seasons as Seattle’s QB1. While Smith has surely distanced himself from his infamous past as a quarterback in the league, it’s hard to envision him getting too many more shots with the Seahawks after throwing 15 interceptions (up from nine in 2023) and eating the third-most sacks (50) in the NFL this past season. While the Seahawks stand to save over $30 million by releasing the 35-year-old by next month, Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald said last week that Smith is “our quarterback” next season.

Kyler Murray: After a promising start to his career after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Cardinals in 2019, Murray has been on a bit of a roller coaster the last three seasons. He only played in 19 games from 2022 to 2023, and while Murray didn’t miss a single game this past season, his production (26 total touchdowns, 14 turnovers) doesn’t match that of someone on a $230 million contract. Cutting Murray now will cost Arizona tens of millions of dollars, so it’s likely the team will give him one more season with top draft pick Marvin Harrison Jr. and tight end Trey McBride before cutting its losses in 2026.

Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young: For two of the quarterbacks taken within the first four picks of the 2023 draft, their careers seem headed in the same direction, albeit at a different pace. Richardson had a promising-yet-short start to his career in 2023, but that was torpedoed last season due to poorer performance (59.5% completion percentage in 2023 vs. 47.7% in 2024) and even poorer decision-making, including subbing himself out of a game because “I got tired.” Richardson was benched two games for that comment and never really righted himself after. Young, too, was benched for two games this season due to poor play, but the former No. 1 overall pick righted the ship once he got his job back later in the season. In the team’s final three games, Young had seven passing touchdowns against zero interceptions, and the Panthers picked up quality wins against the Cardinals and Falcons. That being said, if the Panthers were willing to sit Young for Andy Dalton this year, then there’s reason to believe Young is a few bad outings from seeing the bench again in 2025 — and another team after that.

Rookies

Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe: It’s almost a guarantee that Miami’s Ward and Colorado’s Sanders will be the first — and maybe only — quarterbacks selected in the first round of this spring’s draft. Ward is your big-arm quarterback who can let that thang fly, while Sanders prefers precision (his 74% completion percentage led the NCAA last year). Milroe, the former Alabama quarterback, is more dangerous on the ground than in the air at this point but so was Hurts coming out of college and he’s been to two Super Bowls already.

Second-year starters franchises are committed to

Caleb Williams: It wasn’t his fault, but Williams’ rookie season went so bad that his head coach, offensive coordinator, and interim head coach/offensive coordinator were all fired by the end of it. At one point the Bears lost a franchise record-tying 10 games in a row while Williams was taking sacks like a potato farmer: his 68 sacks were the third-most ever since 1963. But through all that, Williams showed flashes of the guy people compared to Mahomes coming out of college. He passed for 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns while throwing just six interceptions — he set an NFL rookie record with 353 passes without an interception at one point. Once Williams realizes he can’t hold onto the ball for seven seconds every play like he used to at USC, he’ll evolve into the quarterback the Bears have been searching for for decades.

Michael Penix Jr.: By about Week 12 the Falcons probably knew they were committed to Penix for the immediate future. Kirk Cousins was handed $90 million to be the team’s starter before Penix was drafted eighth overall in the draft, but during a rough stretch where Cousins threw zero touchdowns and eight interceptions, it became clear that Penix needed to play. In three starts to end the season, Penix was OK: four touchdowns, three interceptions, 58% completion percentage. But he showed he could compete in a shootout (44-38 loss to the Panthers) and come up in the clutch (game-tying fourth-down conversion against the Commanders). With all the money the Falcons have tied up in Cousins, Penix should see at least two more seasons.

He’s not going anywhere anytime soon

Jalen Hurts: As crazy as it sounds for a quarterback who has appeared in the Super Bowl two out of the last three years, Hurts could have easily been in the “on the clock” tier headed into the 2025 season. He’s put up gaudy numbers the past two seasons (70 total touchdowns) for a team that’s gone 25-9 in that timespan, but the eye test tells you that Hurts’ passing, or lack thereof, is what has limited the Eagles despite having top-level receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Hurts put an end to some of those questions after completing over 72% of his passes and throwing two touchdowns in Sunday’s game, so barring the unforeseen, he’ll be in Philly for years to come.

Lamar Jackson: The Ravens will never part with Jackson after racking up two MVP awards in the last six seasons, but the only thing keeping him out of the Mahomes tier is his playoff woes. Jackson is always fantastic during the regular season, but all that magic seems to go away in the postseason. This season was no different: While Jackson orchestrated three drives at the end of the divisional round game against the Bills that showcased just how unstoppable he can be at his best, Jackson also started that game with two first-quarter turnovers. If you want to find a wart in Jackson’s game, that’s the only one.

Dak Prescott: The Cowboys just made Prescott the highest-paid quarterback ever back in September, so he’s safe for the foreseeable future. The most one can say about Prescott is that he is who he is. Is he one of the best quarterbacks in the league? No. Is he one of the worst? Far from it. Prescott didn’t exactly live up to that $240 million contract in the eight games he appeared in before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury (eight interceptions, 21 sacks), but if you watched the other quarterbacks the Cowboys trotted out this past season, Prescott looks like 1984 Dan Marino.

C.J. Stroud: After his sensational rookie season in 2023, I was convinced Stroud was on the trajectory to immediately being one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The Texans thought so too by loading up the offense with Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs. But the “sophomore slump” is real, and Stroud regressed in his second season, notably in the decision-making category. All that being said, Stroud did the best with what he could in the divisional round against the Chiefs, despite being sacked eight times and being without Diggs and fellow receiver Tank Dell. The future is bright for Stroud, just not as bright as it was following last year.

Jordan Love: The Jordan Love Experience is like the most thrilling roller coaster at an amusement park, but also the one with the most safety issues. At his best, Love is the free-wheeling type that makes the chaotic deep throws that make you understand why the Packers essentially pushed out Aaron Rodgers to get him. But on the other hand, he’s the second-coming of Brett Favre: questionable throws and decisions that lead to turnovers. But one has to remember that this is only Love’s second season as a starter, so the warts will come with the success.

Deshaun Watson: Watson’s fully guaranteed $230 million contract was immovable before he tore his Achilles tendon in October last year and even more so after re-tearing the tendon again last month. In his three seasons since being traded from the Texans to the Browns, Watson has played in just 19 games, never looking like the quarterback who led the league in passing back in 2020. The Browns have the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, and their best player, Myles Garrett, asked for a trade last week. But all that being said, the team can’t realistically move on from Watson for another two years: he has a league-record $172 million cap hit if the Browns release him this year.

Jayden Daniels: Daniels should technically be in the tier below, but anyone who followed the Commanders this season knows that Daniels is unlike most rookie quarterbacks. It’s not just the exceptional numbers (3,568 passing yards, 891 rushing yards, 31 total touchdowns) Daniels put up, it’s the composure he had throughout it all. That Hail Mary against the Bears was about 50% luck, but the fact that Daniels pulled it off shows how locked-in he and Washington were all season. Getting stomped out by the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game doesn’t diminish Daniels’ bright future. I won’t set myself up like I did last year in how I spoke about Stroud, but the Commanders would be wise to get a contract extension done ASAP with Daniels.

He’s not going anywhere, ever

Patrick Mahomes: While the Dallas Mavericks just proved that almost no NBA player is truly untouchable, the same cannot be said for the NFL. Mahomes will never play a single snap for a team not named the Chiefs. Even after stankin’ it up on Sunday with two interceptions, six sacks and countless other hits taken, Mahomes is one-of-one when it comes to quarterbacks. When you need nine yards, he’ll get that for you. When you need mistake-free football at a crucial moment, he does just that. As his weapons have gotten worse over the years, Mahomes has still embodied the famous Mariah Carey quote: “Imma do the best I can with what I got!”