Tag: Taylor

The winless Jets’ quarterback picture grew murkier on Wednesday with New York’s Tyrod Taylor now considered day-to-day with a knee injury.

New York head coach Aaron Glenn, who provided the injury update, declined to say whether he is sticking with a struggling Justin Fields or making a switch to the veteran backup Taylor on Sunday at Cincinnati.

“We’ll have a quarterback on Sunday, I will tell you that,” Glenn told reporters on Wednesday, adding that he knows who will start under center but does not want to give the Bengals “a competitive advantage” by announcing it.

Glenn said he hasn’t lost confidence in Fields despite the team’s offensive struggles. The Jets rank 27th in scoring offense at 18.4 points per game and 29th in total offense at 271.3 yards per game.

“I have all the confidence in the world in Justin, I have all the confidence in the world in Tyrod, and I have all the confidence world in Brady (Cook),” said Glenn, referring to the undrafted rookie on the practice squad.

Signed to a two-year, $40 million contract with $30 million guaranteed, Fields has failed to deliver results. During the past two losses to Carolina and Denver, he completed a combined 15 of 29 passes for 91 yards and no touchdowns.

Fields, 26, has completed 63.7% of his passes for 845 yards, four TDs and no interceptions in six starts this season.

Taylor, 36, who took over in the second half of last Sunday’s 13-6 home loss to the Panthers, has completed 62.3% of his passes this season for 379 yards with three TDs and three picks in three games (one start).

Jets owner Woody Johnson weighed in on Fields’ performance earlier this week.

“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with the rating that we’ve got,” he said. “He has the ability, but something is not jiving. If you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you are going to see similar results across the league. You have to play consistently at that position and that’s what we’re going to try to do for the remainder of the season.”

Glenn didn’t take offense publicly to Johnson’s comments. He said he address the owner’s comments in a team meeting and also spoke individually with Fields.

“He made a comment, and he has every right to his comment,” Glenn said of Johnson. “That comment was actually said by a number of guys, including our quarterback, as far as the efficiency of how we play. We’re not going to fight that. We understand that we have to get better.”

The Jets (0-7) have a bye in Week 9 following their date with the Bengals (3-4).

–Field Level Media

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn wanted to give the team a chance to stage a comeback, but his call at quarterback largely produced more of the same on Sunday as New York slid to 0-7.

With the Panthers leading 10-3 at halftime, Glenn made the move to backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor and benched starter Justin Fields.

“It was time,” Glenn said Sunday. “I think we needed a spark.”

Glenn did not commit to naming a starting quarterback for Week 8.

Fields completed six passes for 46 yards before the Jets went to Tyrod Taylor. Fields has a total of 15 completions and absorbed 12 sacks in the last two games.

Taylor helped guide the Jets’ first scoring drive of the game after Fields left in the second quarter to be evaluated for a potential head injury.

With Taylor in for good, the Jets were able to put a few decent drives together in the second half. While Taylor moved the ball, he was intercepted twice in the second half by cornerback Jaycee Horn. Horn gave up only one catch in coverage, closed to make a one-handed, diving pick with 34 seconds left in third quarter and snagged his second with 4:32 remaining in the game.

“I’ll make the call,” Glenn said of which way he’s leaning at quarterback. “But there’s a lot of conversation I got to have with myself to see what can I do to make sure that we give us a chance to win. We’ll make the right decision. Whatever the decision is, I’m gonna go with it and we’re gonna move forward.”

Glenn’s winless start to his career as a head coach could hit eight games next week at Cincinnati (3-5). The Jets haven’t lost seven consecutive games since 2020 when they were 2-14 and lost their first 13 before consecutive wins against the Rams and Browns.

New York faces the Browns (2-5) in Week 9.

–Field Level Media

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields will start Monday’s game at Miami provided he is cleared from concussion protocol, coach Aaron Glenn said.

Glenn made that point clear on Thursday morning while telling reporters that Fields was expected to be limited in practice later in the day.

“If he’s cleared, he’s the starter,” Glenn said.

Fields was placed in concussion protocol after the Jets’ 30-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sept. 14. He was injured in the opening minute of the fourth quarter when he was smacked by Buffalo pass rusher Joey Bosa after throwing an incomplete pass. Fields’ head hit the turf as he landed. He remained in the game for one more play and Bosa sacked Fields, causing a fumble.

Fields was ruled out for New York’s Week 3 game, thereby putting Tyrod Taylor at the controls in a 29-27 setback to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Taylor, 36, completed 26 of 36 passes for 197 yards with two touchdowns and one interception that was returned for a score against the Buccaneers. He was making his first start since 2023.

Fields, 26, has completed just 57.6 percent of his passes for 245 yards with one touchdown. He also has rushed for 97 yards and two score in two games.

The Bears selected Fields with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 draft. He spent three seasons in Chicago and one with the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing with the Jets as a free agent in the offseason.

Fields is 14-32 as a starter and has thrown for 8,025 yards with 46 TDs and 31 interceptions.

–Field Level Media