Woody Johnson destroys Jets’ QB situation with his latest comments, but it’s something he should’ve known all along
Jets gave Justin Fields a significant two-year contract, but it certainly hasn’t gone like owner Woody Johnson expected. And he made it known.
This could sound like a yearly scheduled content, but New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is not happy with the team’s quarterback situation. Days after Justin Fields was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor in the middle of a 13-6 loss to the Carolina Panthers, Johnson was harsh to make an assessment of the situation.
“If we can just complete a pass, it would look good,” he said on Tuesday. “We gotta complete some passes. You gotta convince them you can do something, otherwise it’s hard to have a game you can win.”
Jets’ quarterback situation
Back in the offseason, the Jets gave Justin Fields a two-year, $40 million contract, with $30 million in guarantees. So far this season, Fields has completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 845 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions, with a 91.1 passer rating.
Those numbers are not necessarily bad, but diving deep, you can see the weaknesses of the offensive structure. Amongst 34 qualifying quarterbacks this year, Fields is 32nd in adjusted EPA/play, 23rd in success rate, 25th in completion percentage over expectation, and 29th in air yards.
For the most part, he’s been able to avoid mistakes, with a 2.7 percent turnover-worthy play rate, but the explosives are simply not there — 2.0 percent big-time throw rate.
The problem is that the Jets should’ve known this all along. Justin Fields wasn’t better than he’s been during his tenures with the Chicago Bears or Pittsburgh Steelers, even though he showed some signs of progress in Pittsburgh last year.
Fields is in his fifth NFL season, and while he could have a career resurgence like Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield, the Jets’ offensive infrastructure makes that possibility unlikely, to say the least.
Now, it’s possible that the Jets decide to move on from Fields — ESPN’s Jets reporter Rich Cimini reported that this is the trend for the rest of the season. But the 2025 version of Tyrod Taylor doesn’t offer much more. It’s a cycle of creating hope with something unrealistic and then being forced to face reality.
What about Aaron Glenn
Even though Woody Johnson is unhappy with the quarterback situation, the owner still thinks that head coach Aaron Glenn can turn it around despite his 0-7 start.
“Well, it looks like he’s turning around parts of it,” Johnson said. “It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got. I mean, he has ability, but something just is not jiving. But if you look at any head coach of a quarterback like that, you’re going to see similar results if you were across the league.”
Things haven’t been pretty for the Jets, but making these types of comments seven months after giving Fields that contract shouldn’t help. At least, they show that Johnson hadn’t watched much Justin Fields film.
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