New York Jets are set to finally pull the plug on Justin Fields after disparaging remarks made by owner Woody Johnson
Woody Johnson brought the situation past the point of return.
You could see the writing on the wall after Justin Fields was benched at the end of Sunday’s New York Jets vs. Carolina Panthers game, but it took owner Woody Johnson to speak to the media to all but confirm the end of the Justin Fields experiment in New York.
Just hours after Johnson said “If we can just complete a pass, it would look good. “We gotta complete some passes. You gotta convince them you can do something, otherwise it’s hard to have a game you can win,” it appears the New York Jets will indeed be going a different direction in an effort to complete more passes.
Jets are planning a change at starting quarterback
“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got,” added Johnson on Fields. “I mean, he has ability, but something just is not jiving. … 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.”
Johnson’s comments and head coach Aaron Glenn’s actions all but told you this was on the horizon, with the ESPN report confirming what will likely be Tyrod Taylor at starting quarterback in the near future for New York.
Fields has been objectively bad. The rating that Woody Johnson is speaking to, otherwise known as passer rating…Fields’ is 93.3 out of 153. For reference, the player Aaron Glenn told to kick rocks, QB Aaron Rodgers, has a passer rating of 105, which ranks 10th in the NFL.
More damning for Fields, however, is the issue with sacks. In six games with the Steelers last year, (and behind a line that you could argue was worse than the Jets’), Fields took 16 sacks. Through six games this season, he has 22.
To me however, Fields is merely the fall guy.
The Jets were bad last year with Aaron Rodgers, who is now thriving with the Steelers. Justin Fields himself was playing the best ball of his career in Pittsburgh, going 4-2 and having people in the building call for his return to the starting lineup by the end of the year.
Yet here New York sits, 0-7, with a head coach that talked a big game but has yet to back it up, and a continuation of problems as QB. At some point, you have to find the common denominator, and that starts at the top in New York.