New York Jets bench QB Justin Fields, start Tyrod Taylor in second half vs. Panthers

The New York Jets have benched QB Justin Fields to begin the second half against the Carolina Panthers trailing 13-3. Backup Tyrod Taylor started in his place.

Fields finished the first half completing six of his 12 passing attempts for 46 yards. He added four rushes for 22 yards, but took three sacks during the first two quarters. The offense scored three points across six drives in the first half.

Taylor’s first drive resulted in a punt, which lasted six plays and spanned 21 yards. His second resulted in an interception after a 10-play drive.

It remains to be seen if the Jets are looking to move forward with Taylor, or if they’re just looking for a different look against the Panthers defense. Whatever the case may be, the Jets are still searching for its first win of the season. They’re currently 0-6 and in jeopardy of losing another against the Panthers on Sunday.

For Taylor, he’s been an NFL journeyman since joining the league during the 2011. The Jets are his seventh team during his career, which began with the Baltimore Ravens after being selected in the sixth round out of Virginia Tech that year. He’s since had stints with the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans and New York Giants before moving over to the Jets before the 2024 season.

Taylor has carved out a solid career for himself, throwing for over 12,500 yards and rushing for over 2,000 more in his career. Most of that came during his three season with Buffalo.

Meanwhile, Fields is in his first season with the Jets after signing with the franchise back in March. That’s after one year spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers, after three with the Chicago Bears as a former first-round pick by them back in 2021. He was selected No. 11 overall in that cycle out of Ohio State as the Bears traded up with the New York Giants to select him.

Fields split time with current Giants QB Russell Wilson with the Pittsburgh Steelers during their lone season there. Fields was still able to throw for 1,106 yards and rush for 289 more while being responsible for nine touchdowns on the season. His best season came in 2022 with the Bears when he rushed for over 2,500 yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same year.