Jets coach Aaron Glenn announced Monday morning that quarterback Justin Fields has been placed in concussion protocol.
Fields, 26, suffered a concussion during the fourth quarter after Joey Bosa sacked him during Sunday’s 30-10 loss to the Bills.
The back of Fields’ head hit the MetLife Stadium turf after he was taken down and headed to the locker room for further examination. Fields must pass all five of the NFL’s concussion protocol stages before he can return to the field. One of the protocols includes participating in a non-contact practice with the rest of his teammates.
“It is always a tough one to really just evaluate until we get more information,” Glenn said about Fields. “It is hard for me as a coach once you get to Friday and you haven’t had any reps. That is just something I believe in.
“I don’t want to put anything on that as far as where we are at with him until we get to that point.”
If Fields does not pass protocol this week, backup Tyrod Taylor would start against the Buccaneers on Sunday in a critical game for the 0-2 Jets. Taylor got the Jets into the end zone for the only time against the Bills when he completed a five-yard touchdown to tight end Jeremy Ruckert with 3:28 remaining.
Taylor finished the game completing 7-of-11 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.
“There are some things we want to get together as a staff and make sure we are aligned on as far as this is specifically what Tyrod likes,” Glenn said. “That’s communication with Tyrod.
“I don’t want to go that far ahead until we have a chance to sit with him and see what things he likes also.”
Taylor joined the Jets last season when he backed up Aaron Rodgers, who was released last offseason. He missed the preseason after having arthroscopic knee surgery in August.
Throughout his 15-year career, Taylor, 36, has battled several injuries throughout his career. In recent years, he has suffered a concussion and injuries to his ribs, wrist, and hamstring.
“Tyrod has been in this league for a number of years,” Glenn said. “I will look at that just like Teddy Bridgewater. Last year, Teddy came back with us [Lions] in the playoffs and he was able to come in and function for us when [Jared] Goff went down.
“Same thing, Teddy is now with Tampa and he hasn’t had a lot of practice. I see Tyrod the same way. Listen, he has been in this league a long time and it doesn’t take much for him to understand exactly what we are trying to do and what we are trying to get done.”
The Jets are coming off an abysmal performance against the Bills in which they couldn’t generate anything on either side of the ball. They quickly fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter and trailed at halftime 20-3.
Fields, who came off one of his best performances of his career against the Steelers, had arguably his worst before exiting the game. He completed just 3-of-11 passes for 27 yards, which were both career lows.
Fields also registered a total QBR of 1.1. He had just seven yards and completed one pass during the first 30 minutes of the game after Fields struggled with accuracy and ball placement.
“I just felt like we didn’t get a rhythm on offense and you know, that was hard on all of us out there,” Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “We didn’t do a good job of helping them.
“I know I dropped one on the ground today and making plays when he was out there, so we’ve all got to do our part and that starts with us as a receiver making plays and getting this thing going as soon as we get out on the field.”
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