Why Justin Fields, NY Jets starters must play in preseason opener

As of Thursday morning, New York Jets head coach Aaron Glenn has yet to reveal whether his starters will play in Saturday’s preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers.

Since the NFL shifted to three preseason games, it has become customary to use the second game as a rehearsal for the starters, while the third game is typically treated as a tryout for roster-bubble players. The first game is where we see the most variance in teams’ approaches.

If Glenn is committed to enhancing the brand of football he has established thus far, he’ll throw his first-team units out there in the preseason opener – at least for a single drive apiece.

It is imperative that the Jets’ starters log a solid chunk of playing time in this year’s preseason – especially quarterback Justin Fields.

Justin Fields needs to show something

By all accounts, it has been a very rough training camp for Justin Fields. Worse yet, he has seemingly regressed rather than improved.

That does not rule out Fields from having the breakout year that New York is banking on. It is, after all, “only training camp.”

But as the Jets strive for Fields to reach a level of play that he has yet to touch in his NFL career, they need to see some legitimate signs of hope before the regular season begins. Otherwise, their faith in Fields would be nothing but blind optimism, built not around his actual on-field play, but simply the fact that he’s a former high draft pick who is young and athletic.

That would not be ideal.

In recent years, multiple quarterbacks have undergone late-career breakouts similar to the one Fields is pursuing, including Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, and Sam Darnold.

All three of those quarterbacks showed at least some inkling of promise that indicated a strong year might be on the way.

In Darnold’s case, he had a strong training camp for the 2024 Vikings, forcing Minnesota to start him over their first-round pick.

Smith and Mayfield, however, were poor in training camp practices. At this point in 2022 and 2023, Smith and Mayfield were being outplayed by Drew Lock and Kyle Trask, respectively.

Despite their woes in camp, Mayfield and Smith excelled in the preseason spotlight, making it a no-brainer for their coaches to start them. Sure, nobody thought at the time that those small-sample preseason performances indicated that Mayfield and Smith were on the verge of Pro Bowl seasons, but it was something for the coaches and fans to cling to as a tangible reason for optimism.

Fields doesn’t have that “something” right now. He needs to use the preseason to inspire faith in the same way that Mayfield and Smith did.

Protecting Fields from injury should not be a factor for the Jets. They committed to a consistent bottom-tier starter under the prayer that they could develop him into a star. For that development to happen, he must get on the field and take some live-game reps. If he gets hurt, so be it – such is the life of a mobile quarterback. New York can’t run from that.

In the midst of an underwhelming camp, Fields needs these reps to push his game forward.

Supporting Fields

Bouncing off the first point, if the Jets are going to play Fields for the sake of his development, it would only be fair to put his starters out there with him.

If Fields were forced to play with a plethora of backups, it would not be a fair situation to evaluate him. It should be all or nothing in this sense – either play Fields with all healthy starters, or save him until next week.

We already established that playing Fields is imperative for his development. In that case, his first-team offense should have his back. It would only help each of them build chemistry with him, too.

From the receivers to the offensive line, establishing chemistry with the quarterback is critical. Some of that chemistry can be built in training camp, but things are entirely different in a live-game environment – especially on the road.

Saturday’s trip to Lambeau Field will be the only opportunity for the Jets’ starters to practice together in a live-game road environment. The next two exhibition games are at MetLife Stadium (technically, the Giants game is on the “road,” but that hardly suffices).

The Jets’ offense features a litany of new faces, including at the two most important positions: quarterback and offensive coordinator. They need all the preparation they can get, which is why they should not waste their only chance to test their communication in a road environment.

Tackling

Glenn has made it a point of emphasis to improve the Jets’ tackling. He’s introduced live tackling drills to New York’s practice sessions, something we never saw under the Robert Saleh regime.

But nothing quite matches the real thing.

Giving the starters a chance to feel some live-game contact would support Glenn’s mission of improving the Jets’ tackling. It would ensure that the team is as prepared as possible for the tenacity of the regular season.

The NFL offseason is long. New York played its last game on January 5, and it will not play its next game until September 7. So, if you’re an NFL starter who is held out of preseason action, you will step on the field in Week 1 having not tackled or been tackled in eight months.

That does not feel like the makings of an Aaron Glenn team.

Letting the starters feel some live-game contact before the regular season embodies the spirit of Glenn’s approach. Yes, he will probably put them out there in Week 2 if he does not do it this weekend in Green Bay, but after a seven-month rest, the more reps, the better – at least, for a team like the Jets that is focused on building a hard-nosed culture.

“No way to hide from it”

If the Jets were a win-now team, preserving the starters would make sense.

They are not a win-now team.

“I think injuries are a part of this game, and there is no way to hide from it. Usually, when you try to hide from it, that’s when they usually pop up.”

That’s what Aaron Glenn told the media at training camp on July 28, after it became evident to the world that his practices involved an entirely new level of physicality compared to the old customs in Florham Park.

Glenn is attempting to instill an unfamiliar culture within the walls of 1 Jets Drive. He’s already done a tremendous job by challenging his players to withstand long, arduous practices, which, by Glenn’s design, are only getting more taxing as the summer rolls on.

Sitting starters in the preseason would be counterproductive to that goal.

This is not to say that Glenn should make Sauce Gardner cover seventh-string wide receivers for four quarters. But if Glenn played his starters for one drive on Saturday, it would hammer home his prevailing theme of accountability, showing that no player on the squad is exempt from getting in some extra work during the preseason.

The primary goal for this team is to shift the culture – to solidify a sturdy foundation that can be built upon for years to come. Glenn is pushing all the right buttons to accomplish that goal. He’s immediately made a statement with an aggressive coaching style.

As the years progress, Glenn can (and should) ease on the gas pedal a little bit. Once the Jets become serious championship contenders, he should strike a better balance between physicality and preserving the health of core players.

For now, though, the mindset is to go full steam ahead on changing the mentality that flows through the veins of the organization. That would be supported by playing the starters on Saturday.