The New York Jets have flirted with a change at quarterback for weeks and are now pulling the trigger. According to Dianna Russini, Justin Fields is being benched. Tyrod Taylor is now the Jets’ starter moving forward.
The Jets are making a quarterback change, benching Justin Fields in favor of veteran Tyrod Taylor, per source.
New York faces Baltimore in Week 12 and ranks last in the league in passing yards per game. pic.twitter.com/Hf7y5WCZGH
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) November 17, 2025
Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract with $30 million guaranteed in March. That hefty price tag bought the Jets nine starts and a 2-7 record. In total, Fields has completed 128-of-204 pass attempts for 1,259 yards, 11 total TDs, an interception, and four fumbles.
The Jets already benched Fields once this season but then went back to him after Taylor got hurt. A second benching feels more permanent.
Jets owner Woody Johnson made waves at a recent NFL owners meeting when he called for a quarterback who could “complete a forward pass.” That was a pretty strong dig at Fields, which felt like the beginning of the end of his time as the team’s starter.
Ironically for Fields, he was looking for a team that could give him a “clean runway” to start all 17 games, something the Pittsburgh Steelers did not give him a year ago despite a 4-2 start to the season. Given the guaranteed money, it seemed likely that he would get at least one full season and maybe two given the Jets’ new regime under coach Aaron Glenn. Instead, he got only three more starts than he did in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers were reportedly in on retaining Fields at the start of free agency, but the Jets offered more money, and the Steelers had their sights set on Aaron Rodgers. It’s fair to wonder what Fields could have done in the Steelers’ system given that even Rodgers only managed five wins in New York last season. The Jets also just went through a total fire sale at the trade deadline, gutting their defense of young talent.
Fields likely started enough to give the Steelers a solid fourth-round pick in compensatory value, but there was a small chance he could have elevated that to a third-rounder had he played all of the Jets’ snaps. We can safely assume that possibility is over.
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