When the New York Jets made the decision to bench Justin Fields in favor of veteran Tyrod Taylor after Week 11’s loss to the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football, it left real questions about Fields’ future and role in New York.
But according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini, the Jets do have a plan to use Fields in specific packages; however, the former first-round pick has “mixed feelings” about it.
“Fields said there’s been some discussion about using him in a Wildcat role, but he has ‘mixed feelings’ about it,” wrote Cimini. “Going in cold creates the potential for a soft-tissue injury.”
Over his nine starts with the Jets, Fields went 2-7 while completing 62.7% of his attempts for 1,259 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception. His legs remained a real weapon, 383 rushing yards on 71 attempts with four touchdowns, but the issues that have defined his career didn’t entirely fade.
Ball security remained a problem, though. He put the ball on the ground four times, and while the interception total stayed low, the sacks did not. Fields took 27 of them, the seventh most in the league, and his pressure-to-sack rate of 23.3% sits among the league’s highest.
The Pittsburgh Steelers tried a similar approach last year after benching Fields six games into the season, carving out a small package of plays designed to tap into his mobility. He ended up logging 12 snaps the rest of the way, finishing with 58 rushing yards on seven attempts.
It’s clear the benching blindsided Fields, and whether he will play another snap in the green and white remains unknown.
