Jets rule out Tyrod Taylor due to knee injury; Justin Fields to start Week 8 vs. Bengals
Fields starts days after owner Woody Johnson criticized the QB's play
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The New York Jets will start Justin Fields at quarterback when they visit the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8, the team announced Saturday. This comes after they downgraded Tyrod Taylor to out due to a knee injury that initially had him listed as questionable for the contest. With Taylor sidelined, rookie Brady Cook will serve as the backup.
This wraps up the mystery of which quarterback would start for the Jets in Week 8, as coach Aaron Glenn had kept the decision close to the vest throughout the week. Had it not been for Taylor's knee injury, however, the veteran likely would've received his first start of the season after taking over for Fields to begin the second half of last week's loss to the Carolina Panthers. After Fields' benching, Taylor completed 10 of his 22 pass attempts for 126 yards and threw two interceptions.
For Fields, this has been quite the whirlwind of a week. Not only did the former first-rounder need to field questions about his in-game benching in Week 7, but he also found himself under fire from Jets owner Woody Johnson. At the NFL league meetings, Johnson was openly critical of Fields' play this season, throwing jabs like, "If we could complete a pass, it would look good."
When asked for his comments on the matter, Fields took the high road, saying, "It doesn't bother me, it doesn't. Of course, everybody knows I need to play better, we need to play better as a team."
Under Fields, who inked a two-year, $40 million deal this offseason, the Jets are 0-7 on the season, and the quarterback has struggled mightily when dropping back to pass, averaging 140.8 passing yards per game. Meanwhile, New York is averaging 18.4 points per game, which is the sixth-lowest in the NFL.
