Justin Fields
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New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields.
At some point, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were going to have to catch a break.
It may have finally come in the form of an injury from their Week 3 opponent with the New York Jets forced to sit starting quarterback Justin Fields due to a concussion.
“Jets QB Justin Fields has been ruled out of Sunday’s game vs. Tampa Bay due to his concussion,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on September 17. “Tyrod Taylor will start.”
The Buccaneers are 2-0 and coming home for the first time this season after engineering a pair of fourth quarter comebacks in road wins over the Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans.
“First-year coach Aaron Glenn announced Wednesday that veteran Tyrod Taylor will start under center for the winless Jets in their first road game of the season,” ESPN’s Rich Cimini wrote. “Glenn, who said earlier this week that the Jets were preparing for the possibility of Taylor starting, added Wednesday that Fields remains in concussion protocol.”
Taylor One Of NFL’s Oldest Quarterbacks
Taylor, 36 years old, is in his 15th season and one of the NFL’s oldest quarterbacks.
He also hasn’t started a game since 2023, when he went 2-3 as the starter for the New York Giants in place of injured quarterback Daniel Jones.
The Jets are Taylor’s seventh team in 15 seasons. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round (No. 180 overall) in 2011 and won a Super Bowl as Joe Flacco’s backup in his second season.
Taylor became a full time starter for the Buffalo Bills in 2015 and made his only Pro Bowl that year. He was the starter for the Bills for 3 seasons and led the franchise to its first playoff appearance in 18 years in 2017.
After making the playoffs, he was replaced in the offseason when the Bills drafted 2024 NFL MVP Josh Allen at No. 7 overall.
Over 15 seasons, Taylor is 28-28-1 as a starter, with the Ravens the only team of his 7 that he won’t have started a game for.
In a strange twist, Taylor was the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns in 2018 when he was replaced by current Tampa Bay starting quarterback Baker Mayfield.
7 years ago this week, Baker Mayfield made his NFL debut replacing Tyrod Taylor.
He led the Browns to a come from behind win after being down 14-0.
The Browns had been 1-32-1 in their last 34 games, and 4-45-1 in their last 50.
He went 7-7 that year.pic.twitter.com/6aMZEx1TFU
— Djon Mustard. The ‘D’ is silent. (@M1K3EvansTD) September 16, 2025
Buccaneers Pass Rush Takes Huge Hit
While it might seem like the Buccaneers caught a break facing Taylor instead of Fields, they’ll be doing so in the immediate aftermath of their defense taking a pretty big hit this week.
Up and coming interior defensive lineman and 2023 first round pick (No. 19 overall) Calijah Kancey was ruled out for the season with a torn pec suffered in a Week 2 against the Texans.
“An MRI just now confirmed#Buccaneers DTCalijah Kancey tore his pec last night, source says,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo wrote on his official X account on September 15. “He will need surgery and his season is over.”
Through 3 seasons, the overarching story of Kancey’s career has been his struggle to stay healthy. When he’s been on the field, he’s been one of the NFL’s elite players at his position.
In 2023, Kancey missed 3 games due to a calf strain. In 2024, Kancey led the Buccaneers with 7.5 sacks despite missing 5 games due to a calf injury, with 6.5 sacks over the final 9 games of the regular season. Through his first 2 seasons, Kancey has 11.5 sacks.