Tyrod Taylor has been known as a good locker room guy throughout his 15-year National Football League career and it was on full display on Wednesday.
The New York Jets will be starting Taylor moving forward. He doesn’t offer the same rushing upside as Justin Fields, but he could be a spark for the passing offense. Taylor has a pedigree himself. He's a former Pro Bowler and has won a Super Bowl. He's also been around the league in various roles as a starter and as a backup. So, he's clearly seen it all.
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It’s never easy to transition quarterbacks during a season. For Taylor, it’s obviously a positive. But, that’s not the case for the 26-year-old. It’s a difficult line to walk, but Taylor had a classy response when asked about Fields on Wednesday while speaking to the media.
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) and New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields
Nov 13, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) and New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) react after the game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images
"Not necessarily right away," Taylor said when asked if he was able to talk to Fields after the move was made. "Me and Justin have an open line of communication. The conversation will come at some point. We spend time together in the offseason as well as in-season too. Right now, my mind and my focus is on being able to get everyone on the same page so we can go out and execute at a high level. But, that conversation will come. All I can do is just share the things that I have been through and hopefully that helps his experience and helps him in the long run. He's a tremendous player and I think, in this league, he has a lot of good football ahead of him."
Fields is young enough that there could be a lot of positive things ahead for him. If you take a look around the league right now at some of the quarterbacks having success, you'll notice a handful of former high draft picks that didn't work out with teams early on in their careers. Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold, and Baker Mayfield are three examples.
He's just 26 years old. Even if the Jets were to move on from Fields in the offseason, someone should give him a shot.
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