Any change the Jets may have planned to make at quarterback will have to wait a week, as Tyrod Taylor was ruled out on Saturday with a knee injury for the Week 8 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, meaning Justin Fields will make the start under center.
Taylor had been a limited participant in each of the team's three practices this week – splitting first team reps with Fields – due to a bone bruise and had been listed as questionable on Friday's final injury report.
With Taylor out, as first reported by The New York Post's Brian Costello, Fields will take charge in Sunday's matchup one week after he was benched in the second half of last Sunday's 13-6 defeat to the Carolina Panthers.
Rookie Brady Cook will serve as Fields' backup for the Week 8 game in Cincinnati, with Taylor not traveling with the team. Cook, undrafted out of Missouri, has been on New York's practice squad since he was waived in the final round of roster cuts in late August.
To make matters worse for Fields, he will be without wide receivers Garrett Wilson (concussion) and Josh Reynolds (hip), the latter of whom was downgraded to out on Saturday.
This is the latest turn in what can only be described as a wacky week for Gang Green.
Reports on Tuesday indicated that the Jets were primed to make the QB switch from the struggling Fields to the veteran Taylor. Earlier that same day, Jets owner Woody Johnson spoke to reporters at the NFL fall meetings and was asked if he had a preference for the team's starting quarterback.
"That’s completely up to the coach. I’m not going to be involved at all in any of that,” he said. “This is what they’re paid to do. This is what they’re experts at doing, and so they’ll make the right decision with what we’ve got."
On Wednesday, first-year head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters that he wasn’t planning on making an announcement on his decision in an effort to avoid giving Cincinnati a competitive advantage.
However, Taylor told reporters following Thursday's practice that he was not told what his role would be for Sunday's game.
“I’m trying to keep it normal,” Taylor said at the time. “Sticking true to my process, preparing mentally and physically to be ready for whatever the opportunity is — I have no anticipation for [my role], my sole focus is being available and ready to be able to lead this team when called upon.”
The 36-year-old said he had been working with trainers throughout the week and was confident that he would be ready to play Sunday.
“I’m just taking things day-by-day,” Taylor said. “I’ve been listening to the trainers, they’ve done a great job of putting me through rehab and just getting mobility back into it. I feel good.”
In his last action against the Panthers, Fields threw for 46 yards on 6 of 12 passing with 22 yards on four rushes and he was sacked three times for a loss of 21 yards, giving him an 11.3 QBR and 59.7 passer rating. The Jets offense managed just three points on six first-half drives, a week after scoring 11 total points against the Denver Broncos in London in a game that saw Fields finish with minus-10 yards passing.
In six games this year, Fields has thrown for just four touchdowns and 845 yards while completing 63.7 percent of 135 attempts for a 6.3 average. He does have three touchdowns and 257 yards rushing, averaging 6.1 yards per attempt.
Fields has yet to throw an interception, but he has fumbled the ball three times, has been sacked 22 times for a total of 169 yards lost, and has a 36.5 QBR (out of 100) on the year.
In his comments on Tuesday, Johnson expressed confidence in Glenn and said that he believed he had begun to turn parts of the franchise around. However, in that answer, he had some criticism of Fields' play.
“It's hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he's got,” Johnson said. “He has the ability, but something is just not jiving. But, if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you're gonna see similar results across the league. You have to play consistently at that position, and that’s what we’re gonna try to do.”
When asked about his optimism about the team, Johnson said that it came from seeing improvement in the play of the defense and special teams, but the offense left a lot to be desired: "And if we could just complete a pass, it would look good."
Johnson added: “The offense is just not clicking. And you can’t run the ball if you can’t pass the ball. That's football 101.”
