Ryan Clark Draws Criticism After Tying Lamar Jackson’s Success to Race Conversation

Ryan Clark doesn't believe Cam Newton, Michael Vick were authentic Black quarterbacks.

Ryan Clark Draws Criticism After Tying Lamar Jackson’s Success to Race Conversation

Lamar Jackson and Ryan Clark (Image via IMAGO)

Lamar Jackson’s two NFL MVPs, four Pro Bowl nominations, and never recording a losing season mean nothing to Ryan Clark. The former NFL safety wants more from Jackson.

Clark wants Jackson to dominate football and become the authentic ‘Black quarterback’ that his predecessors laid the foundation for, but fell short in completing their destiny.

Quarterbacks are essentially pocket passers or, in Madden terms, ‘a field general’ whose field of vision extends to the corners in the opposition’s backfield.

As time passed, players such as Randall Cunningham, Michael Vick, and Cam Newton introduced a new way of playing the quarterback position. The birth of the ‘scrambler’ quarterback took the NFL by storm. Quarterbacks did not just throw to a catcher; they carried the ball like a running back.

During a recent episode of ESPN’s First Take with Newton sitting beside him on the discussion panel, Ryan Clark said:

Without Michael Vick accepting that and working to become a better passer and better leader, we don’t get a Cam Newton. If Cam Newton doesn’t bring the style of play that he had the opportunity to bring from Auburn to the NFL and win an MVP doing it, we don’t have a Lamar Jackson.

Fans call out Ryan Clark for only zeroing in on Lamar Jackson as the torchbearer for Black quarterbacks

Clark views Lamar Jackson in the same category as Cunningham, Vick, and Newton. However, he believes the Baltimore Ravens quarterback can surpass all of them. But to achieve that dream, Jackson must win the Super Bowl.

We need Lamar Jackson to take that next step and hold that Lombardi trophy.

Ryan Clark quipped
Ryan Clark Draws Criticism After Tying Lamar Jackson’s Success to Race Conversation
Lamar Jackson (Image via IMAGO)

Now, the former Steelers DB’s assessment has football connoisseurs thinking. Is Clark correct that Jackson is the sole candidate for the next evolution of ‘Black quarterbacks’? It may have taken nearly 40 years since another player of color as QB to win the Super Bowl, but he achieved it three times in five years.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the son of former MLB player Mahomes Sr., who won three rings, three Super Bowls, and two league MVPs. Then the current holder of the Lombardi Trophy is Jalen Hurts, who has won multiple NFC titles and been to two Super Bowls with the Philadelphia Eagles, winning the latest one in New Orleans.

Jackson’s biggest team achievement so far has been playing in the AFC Championship game in 2023, which they lost to Mahomes’ Chiefs. He has a tough road ahead as well. According to Sharp Football Analysis, the Ravens have the 12th toughest 2025 schedule. After playing three preseason games against the Colts, Cowboys, and Commanders, the Ravens will kick off their campaign with a rematch of last season’s divisional game against the Buffalo Bills.

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