New York Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor is more than just a journeyman backup in the NFL. Throughout his 15-year career, the Virginia Tech product has been a consummate professional and leader for every team he’s played for.

Unlike many journeyman backups, Taylor has had plenty of success as a starter, too.

Taylor is 28-28-1 as a starting quarterback. In seasons where he has played in over 10 games, he is 22-20 as a starter. Many backups around the league could only hope to start 50 games in their careers like Taylor.

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With Jets starting quarterback Justin Fields suffering a concussion in New York’s Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Taylor is set to make his first start in two years.

A good performance would not only give the Jets their first win of the year in a massive upset, but it could be the stepping stone for Taylor to receive more chances throughout the year.

Taylor enters legacy-defining game

It has usually been the other way around for Taylor in his career. As a backup quarterback, he has watched Joe Flacco win a Super Bowl in Baltimore, been replaced by Josh Allen after reaching the playoffs in Buffalo, and suffered a medical emergency in Los Angeles that gave way to Justin Herbert’s career.

Almost everywhere Taylor has gone, he has started, played decently, and then been replaced by a quarterback who went on to even bigger things in that same role.

Allen, Herbert, and even his Sunday opponent, Baker Mayfield, have replaced Taylor in some capacity. In many ways, the Jets were hoping that Fields could have a similar kind of jump with Taylor backing him up going into the 2025 season.

At 0-2 and with Fields hurt, though, Taylor has a chance to flip the script on his career.

Film Review: Tyrod Taylor is a very capable starting QB for NY Jets

In some ways, Taylor’s ability has always been capped. In other ways, he never got a fair shot to prove what he could be.

For a New York squad that is 0-2 and looking for any signs of life, Taylor can do to Fields what Mayfield, Allen, and Herbert have done to him. A road win against a playoff contender like Tampa Bay would show what many saw throughout camp: While Fields is a better fit for what the Jets want to do as an offense, Taylor is the better quarterback.

The 35-year-old has a chance to turn his entire career on its head with one performance.