Jets head coach Aaron Glenn told reporters at a Wednesday press conference that he knows who will start at quarterback against the Bengals on Sunday, but he isn’t planning to share that choice with the whole world at this point.
Glenn pulled Justin Fields in favor of Tyrod Taylor at halftime of last Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, but cited “competitive advantage” as his reason for keeping this week’s choice to himself.
“We’ll have a quarterback on Sunday, I will tell you that,” Glenn said.
Glenn’s comments came a day after Jets owner Woody Johnson laid the majority of the blame for the team’s 0-7 start on Fields’ shoulders in comments that included saying that “if we can just complete a pass, it would look good.” That suggested his preference would be for Taylor to be the starter, but Glenn pushed back at the inference that Johnson doesn’t like Fields and insisted that Johnson is leaving the decision up to him.
“Woody puts that in my hand as far as who plays,” Glenn said. “I don’t see that changing. He trusts me to make that decision. He made a comment and he has every right to that comment. 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 gonna fight that, we understand that. We have to get better, we do. I don’t think there’s anywhere in that comment where he said he doesn’t like Justin.”
A report on Tuesday indicated that the Jets were moving toward naming Taylor their starter for Week 8. Nothing Johnson said on Tuesday nor anything Glenn said on Wednesday did anything to push back at that, but confirmation of their plans will still have to wait a little longer.
Linebacker Quincy Williams is on his way back to the lineup for the 0-7 Jets.
Williams has missed the last four games while on injured reserve with a shoulder injury, but the team announced that he has been cleared to return to practice on Wednesday. The move opens a 21-day window for Williams to practice with the team and he could be activated at any point in that span.
Williams had 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two passes defensed in the first three weeks of the regular season.
The 2023 first-team All-Pro has been an integral member of the defense since joining the team in 2021, so his return will be a welcome development although it remains to be seen how much it will help their bid for their first win of the season.
In a stunning move, Jets owner Woody Johnson publicly criticized on Tuesday the team’s starting (as of Week 7) quarterback, Justin Fields.
“If we can just complete a pass, it would look good,” Johnson told reporters, among other things.
They had a guy last year who can complete a pass. They didn’t want him back. But Johnson said he has no regrets about moving on from future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
“I never look back,” Johnson said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “You have to look forward to football. Even when you cut players, they could be a Hall of Famer. You just never know. But Aaron’s playing great now. He’s in a situation that’s working for him.”
Of course, Rodgers seemed to be not interested in a third season with the Jets — even if they wanted him. And, as we hear it, there was a difference of opinion as to who did and who didn’t. G.M. Darren Mougey wanted to keep Rodgers, we’re told. Coach Aaron Glenn wanted to move on.
Moving on from Rodgers is only part of the problem. The other part is the guy they picked. By title, that was Mougey’s move. It’s possible, however, that others in the organization had their fingerprints on the move.
Up to and including Woody Johnson himself.
Jets owner Woody Johnson’s stunning candor regarding soon-to-be-former starting quarterback Justin Fields came with strong words of support for coach Aaron Glenn.
Lost in the monologue from Johnson (or at least from the coverage of his comments to reporters) was the guy who signed Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract — G.M. Darren Mougey.
“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got,” Johnson said about Fields, without specifying that he wasn’t referring to Madden ratings. (Then again, maybe he was.)
“If we can just complete a pass, it would look good,” Johnson also said of the team’s predicament.
Few owners ever call out the abilities of players so publicly and so bluntly. Given the Fields was hand picked by the new regime to be the team’s quarterback doesn’t bode well for whoever picked him.
Other options were available, for far less money than $30 million fully guaranteed. Potential MVP candidate Daniel Jones got a one-year, $14 million deal in Indianapolis. 49ers backup/starter (for now) Mac Jones signed a two-year, $8.4 million contract.
Or they could have just given the job to Tyrod Taylor. Which they’re reportedly now doing.
Thus, even though Johnson is defending his coach, the basis for excusing Glenn’s performance is a harsh critique of the quarterback picked by Mougey.
Unless someone other than Moughey picked Fields. If so, Mougey would be wise to get the word out ASAFP. Before before talk radio and Jets fans connect the large, blinking dots.
It looks like the Jets are going to have a new starting quarterback against the Bengals in Week 8.
Head coach Aaron Glenn declined to name a starter after replacing Justin Fields with Tyrod Taylor for the second half of their loss to the Panthers and he said he was still considering the choice on Monday, but Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that the team is “moving toward” making Taylor the starter.
Glenn will speak to reporters on Wednesday, but a signal about the direction they’re going came when team owner Woody Johnson spoke to reporters at a league meeting in New York on Tuesday. Johnson noted that “it’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we got” and complimented the defense while saying he thinks things would look good “if we could just complete a pass.”
Johnson also said that the choice is up to Glenn, but it becomes hard to miss the writing on the wall when the guy signing the checks shares those kinds of comments.
Taylor started the Jets’ Week 3 loss to the Bucs because Fields was out due to a concussion. He was 26-of-36 for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the game, but also threw a pick-six and lost a fumble.
