Antonio Brown is an athlete who has been through a lot of ups and downs over the past year. Unfortunately, there have been a lot more down but the NFL wide receiver is determined to change that in 2020. He has been working out at home every day and is always close by his phone in case a team calls. Over the past few weeks, there have been little rumblings here and there that Brown might be setting his sights on the Baltimore Ravens. In fact, he perpetuated those rumors just under a month ago.

Today, the new face of Madden 21, Lamar Jackson, was doing a Q&A session on the Baltimore Ravens Twitter account when all of a sudden, he was asked about his team potentially signing Brown. The MVP quarterback was very direct with his answer noting that he would be happy about it although it's not something he can control or even outright demand.

EA Sports is one of the most well-known video game companies in the entire world thanks to their yearly sports titles. One of their most popular games is the Madden series which always gets football fans riled up. Every single year, gamers anticipate the unveiling of which player will grace the cover. Over the years, there has been the "Madden curse" which typically leads to misfortune for those who end up on the cover. The most recent victim was Antonio Brown who was on the cover of Madden 19. Patrick Mahomes was the face of Madden 20 and still won the Super Bowl so the curse isn't an exact science.

Today, during a Q&A session on the Baltimore Ravens Twitter account, Lamar Jackson revealed that he would be the face of the next iteration, Madden 21. This makes a whole lot of sense when you consider he is the reigning MVP and had a dominant season in 2019.

Lamar Jackson has proven himself to be an exceptional talent on the football field over the past few years. Last season, the Baltimore Ravens quarterback ended up winning the NFL MVP trophy although his season stalled out in the playoffs despite being the favorites to go out and win the Super Bowl. Now, Jackson is enjoying his time off before he has to go back to training camp before the start of the 2020 season. 

Recently, Jackson was minding his business on Twitter when he was reminded of the time Jaire Alexander, his college teammate, had a heartwarming reaction to Jackson being drafted by the Ravens. Jackson commented on the video and immediately received a ringing endorsement from President Donald Trump who called the Ravens superstar a "great pick." Jackson took note of the President's kind words and said "Truzz Trump."

Lamar Jackson has proven himself to be one of the most dynamic talents in the NFL and his efforts as the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens, paid off last season. He won the MVP award while proving himself to be one of the best QBs in the league. Unfortunately, his Ravens were bounced out of the playoffs in the divisional round, despite being favorites to win the Super Bowl. We haven't been able to see Jackson play in two months now and it will be quite a while before he is back out on the field.

Luckily for us, some of his high school highlights recently made their way to social media and we can't get enough of them. The clip below features some incredible moves from Jackson as he dekes out defenders and goes for long runs that result in touchdowns. Based on these highlights, it becomes apparent as to how natural a talent Jackson really is.

When Antonio Brown isn't engaging in antics that are detrimental to his career, he is actually one of the best wide receivers in the entire NFL. Some feel like Brown could be one of the greatest of all time although his off the field issues have guaranteed that it will never happen, at least not in the immediate future. Brown is now a free agent and can go wherever he wants. The only issue is that he is at the complete mercy of the NFL. His behavior has made teams want to avoid him and there is no guarantee that the league will let him play should he get a new contract.

While surfing on Instagram recently, Brown was met with the possibility of signing with the Baltimore Ravens and playing with MVP winner Lamar Jackson. Brown had two words for this as he said "Scary Site." Of course, he meant "sight" but we digress. This writer has definitely made some spelling mistakes in his time and you commenters are never shy to point them out.

Lamar Jackson became a breakout star in the NFL last season thanks to his dual-threat capabilities with the Baltimore Ravens. Jackson won the MVP award and was given various nicknames such as “Action Jackson,” “Lamarvelous,” and “Not bad for a running back.” These are all nicknames that are unique to the Ravens standout and as you can imagine, companies are already looking to profit on his likeness.

Jackson is already starting to feel the effects of this and according to TMZ, he has launched a lawsuit against Amazon for allowing third-party vendors to sell merchandise with his name and likeness. As Jackson explains, he never signed off on these designs and believes Amazon is on the hook for large amounts of money that he missed out on due to the profiteering of his name.

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

The quarterback is worried that fans purchasing the items believe he is behind them. This ultimately creates some confusion amongst consumers and Jackson wants to put a stop to it. In the lawsuit, Jackson is demanding that Amazon take the items down while also paying him damages. Jackson feels like his brand has been damaged due to this and is looking for a quick resolution.

Amazon has yet to respond to the lawsuit so stay tuned for updates as we will be sure to bring them to you.

[Via]

Lamar Jackson was easily the best quarterback in football this past season. The NFL regular season was quite kind to Jackson as he led his team at a 14-2 record and the number one seed in the AFC. Jackson was phenomenal thanks to his abilities as a dual-threat quarterback who can both run and pass. Unfortunately for Jackson and the Ravens, they were quickly eliminated from the playoffs by the underdog Tennessee Titans.

In the aftermath of the loss, the Ravens were left wondering what went wrong. One could look at the Ravens’ gameplan which became incredibly pass-heavy after the team went down early. Either way, Jackson is already looking ahead to next season and believes he knows exactly what to do in order to get his team back in a position to win. Jackson particularly spoke on what he needs to improve. 

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

“Everything. I’m not the best, I’m not the greatest,” Jackson said according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “I’m going into my third year, and I’m trying to get somewhere. I’m trying to get to the Super Bowl. So I gotta work on everything.”

Jackson certainly has a great foundation, especially as a young player. He still has a ton of time to develop so if you’re a Ravens fan, there are plenty of reasons to still be excited about this team.

Friday, Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh defended his team’s quarterback, Lamar Jackson, after last week’s disappointing playoff loss.

Dan Kubus / Getty Images

“He’s 23 years old. He’s younger than Joe Burrow, OK?” Harbaugh said at his end-of-season news conference, according to ESPN. “So he’s got a pretty good head start right now. I mean, he’s along the way.”

Jackson has been criticized for a lackluster performance in his second career playoff start. He recorded only one touchdown and two interceptions.

“The Manning brothers combined to … they had five losses in their first five playoff games before they won one” Harbaugh continued. “[Joe] Montana, [Steve] Young and [Brett] Favre didn’t start a playoff game until their third season. [Drew] Brees and [Troy] Aikman until their fourth season, and [Aaron] Rodgers until his fifth season. Interesting.”

The Ravens lost to the Titans 28-12 in the divisional round. It was a shock for Ravens’ fans who expected a Super Bowl appearance after the team went 14-2 during the regular season. 

There are only four remaining teams in the NFL playoffs. The Titans matchup against the Chiefs at 3:05 PM on Sunday and the Packers play against the 49ers at 6:40 PM on Sunday. The two winners will play each other in the Super Bowl on February 2nd.

It looks like the Drake curse has struck again. For years the 6 God has been a so-called bandwagon fan and has been spotted supporting several high-profile programs and professional sports teams, particularly the cream of the crop in their respective sport. Regardless of his love & support, Drizzy has had a costly effect on his teams. For instance, Drake was spotted wearing an Alabama sweatshirt just days before they lost to Clemson last year, and British boxer Anthony Joshua, who lost his fight to Anthony Ruiz, posed with Drake and vowed to “break the curse,” which he couldn’t. Elsewhere, there’s the Conor McGregor support right before he lost to Khabib, and let's not forget about Serena Williams who entered the U.S. Open in 2015 as the top seed and ended up losing to unranked Italian player Roberta Vinci, which Drake happened to be in attendance watching live when that happened. We could go on with other Drake curses, but you get the point.

Earlier this week, Drake decided to show some love to superstar QB Lamar Jackson and wish him a happy birthday on January 7th. He did so by giving him a shoutout on IG, while sharing a pic of his sweatpants that read “Trusss” on it, the famous catch phrase of the Ravens this year and Mark Ingram.

In 1956, Jim Brown rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 8 touchdowns in only eight games. He was the glaring and obvious choice for college football’s most prestigious award. A surefire no brainer many thought. Digression, you’re probably wondering why I started an article about black quarterbacks with a story about a black running back. Patience is a virtue. Despite his brilliance during the season, Brown did not hoist the Heisman memorial trophy, Paul Hornung did. Hornung was a quarterback from Notre Dame who managed pedestrian figures during the year – 3 touchdowns to 13 interceptions – not to mention his team was 2-8. Hornung was white.

I don’t feel it would be a pontification to say, was Hornung black he wouldn’t have caught the committee’s radar let alone been recognized as a finalist. As has since been noted by journalists of the time, the error of that vote was rooted in racial bigotry. The abstention to recognize Brown was staged by writers holding bygone principles from a fleeting era. To understand the plight of the black quarterback, you must first acknowledge the unearned exaltation of white quarterbacks throughout football history. That coupled with the disproportionate criticism black signal-callers have seen since the sport’s reintegration in the 1940s.  

Hornung’s Heisman exemplifies a long-standing tradition in grid-iron culture to glorify the white quarterback. Because of the leadership role quarterbacks are thrust into, and their standing in relation to the marketing and promotion of the franchise – coaches and front office members were languorous to incorporate blacks into a calling of such importance. The story of Brown’s ostracism in the face of Hornung’s praise reads even more ridiculous when citing that Brown, as an NFL rookie, would go on to win pro football’s most valuable player award. Fast forward to 2019, two of the top three vote-getters for this year’s Heisman were black quarterbacks (Justin Fields, Jalen Hurts) and Baltimore Raven’s QB Lamar Jackon will likely be voted the NFL’s MVP after having a historic season. Should he collect the award he would join Jim Brown as one of the youngest MVPs in league history. The success of Jackson, Fields, and Hurts has come after years of tribulation and discrimination for African-American passers who have paved the way for what can be monikered the “Year of the black quarterback.”

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

2019 Proves Historic For Black Quarterbacks

According to ESPN’s The Undefeated, black quarterbacks combined for more starts, wins, touchdown passes and yards this season than any season in NFL history. Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson have collectively elevated the standard for statistical benchmarks. Black quarterbacks accounted for a combined 80 victories this season. The previous high was 77 set during the 2000 season by Donovan McNabb, Donte Culpepper, Steve McNair, and company. So are we already looking at an all-time great cluster of African-American quarterbacks?

QBR is a proprietary statistic created to measure the performance of quarterbacks and their overall impact on the game. Five of the highest seven QBR ratings this season belonged to black signal-callers. In what has been an unbelievable 2019 campaign, Lamar Jackson led the league with a mark of 81.7. Jackson. He was followed by last season’s Most Valuable Player Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs at 76.4. Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson, and DeShaun Watson round out the list with ratings above 68.9. Dak Prescott’s 405 yard, 4 touchdown outing against the Miami Dolphins on September 9th, 2019 is just one example of four total games in which black quarterbacks posted a perfect passer rating. The only non-black signal-caller to accomplish this feat in 2019 was Aaron Rodgers. 

The front-runner for MVP (Broward county’s own) Lamar Jackson has been routinely delivering jaw-dropping performances. The 23-year-old broke Michael Vick’s quarterback rushing record with 1,206 yards – becoming the first player to have 30 or more passing touchdowns and over 1,000 yards rushing. Jackson had three games with a 99.5-plus Total QBR, matching the rest of the NFL’s total over the last ten years. Should Jackson capture the award he would be the third black quarterback in the last five season to win it, joining Cam Newton and Patrick Mahomes.

Jamie Squire/Getty Image

Plight Of The Black Quarterback

Evaluations of black quarterbacks have been fueled by perpetual racial stereotypes and bias double standards. African-American quarterbacks have been twice as scrutinized and according to a study conducted by the Sage Journal of Sports & Economics, twice as likely to be benched. Long has there been a conception that African-Americans lacked the intellectual capability to play the role. They were systematically steered away from the position for years – up until very recently. The ratio of black quarterbacks remains disproportionate to the overall ratio of black players; as 67% of NFL players are black, yet only 17% of quarterbacks are. One huge factor in this is the draft process and how scouts assess black quarterbacks in comparison to their white counterparts.  

On Friday the league’s all-pro teams were announced, featuring Lamar Jackson who received 47 out of 50 votes. Hall of Fame General Manager, Bill Polian, who insisted Jackson should play wide receiver coming out of college did not vote for the MVP front-runner. Polian did later apologize for his wide receiver comments, telling USA Today“I was wrong because I used the old, traditional quarterback standard with him, which is clearly why John Harbaugh and Ozzie Newsome were more prescient than I was.” Polian’s original statement speaks to the barriers black quarterbacks have had to break through dating back to the earliest days of modern football.

Marlin Briscoe made history in 1968 as the first black quarterback to start a game in the AFL. The Nebraska standout had to negotiate into his contract that the Broncos give him at least an opportunity to try out for QB. He was later forced to change his position to wide receiver to extend his career. In a show of incredible resilience, Briscoe transformed himself into a pro-bowl pass catcher. Michael Vick, the first black quarterback to be drafted no. 1 overall said the following to ESPN – “A lot of us aren’t viewed as passers — we’re viewed as athletes, I think it’s unfair and unfortunate.” Forty years ago, Doug Williams became the first quarterback to be selected in the opening round of the NFL draft. The first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl said about Briscoe, “Marlin did so much for guys like me. He could have been a great quarterback for a long time …but we have to be real about the time [in which] Marlin played.”

Warren Moon is the only black quarterback enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When commenting on the state of the position today, Moon explained, “It’s really a product of the fact that we’ve been getting more and more opportunities to play the quarterback position over the years, and you see what happened this year from those opportunities.” Moon continued, “The talent has always been there, but you can’t display it if you don’t have the opportunity. It has all come together this year … and they’ll just continue to keep improving because they’re all young quarterbacks. Except for Russell being in his eighth year, the rest of these guys are early in their careers.”

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Battling Defenses & Stereotypes

On a Sunday afternoon, last season after the Houston Texans fell to the Tennessee Titans, school superintendent Lynn Redden unleashed a racist tirade on facebook directed at Texans quarterback DeShaun Watson. “That may have been the most inept quarterback decision I’ve seen in the NFL,” Redden said, referring to the play of Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. “When you need precision decision making you can’t count on a black quarterback.” 

Although the post was later deleted, Redden’s words give life to a sentiment held against black quarterbacks for far too long. He also gives a face to the faceless and quiet racist ideologies hidden in the minds of some spectators – even though the trope is not rooted in any substantial evidence. Comments like the one made by Redden are just one example of the racism blacks have had to face in sports.

In relation to public criticism, Former starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor states it perfectly, “It’s always going to be twice as bad just because of who I am – an African-American quarterback,” Taylor says, echoing a familiar refrain among people of color, regardless of professional status. “Look across the league, man. We’re held to a certain standard. We almost have to be perfect.” Taylor said. 

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

What Does The Future Hold?

Even though they’ve endured a great deal to get here – if you’re talking about progress in the NFL, no group has gone further, faster, than the black quarterback. There are more and more black faces in the league taking on this critical leadership role. In 1971, just 3% of quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes in the NFL were black, today that number has climbed to 26%. Since 2010, a black quarterback has started in each of college football’s national championship games. ESPN’s top-ranked pocket and dual-threat quarterbacks in the class of 2020 are black. These facts are evidence that there are likely great things to come in the future for QBs of color. Although these men still have to deal with a bevy of hurdles, it is safe to say a significant amount of progress has been made. For now, black quarterbacks continue to build on the accomplishments of pioneers like Warren Moon, Marlin Briscoe, and Doug Williams as we venture into a new era of football.