The New York Jets are turning the page at quarterback, as Rich Cimini of ESPN reports that head coach Aaron Glenn has benched starting quarterback Justin Fields. Longtime veteran backup Tyrod Taylor will now take the reins under center for the Jets.

Poetically, the 36-year-old Taylor will start on Sunday against the team that drafted him in 2011, the Baltimore Ravens. The team was informed by Glenn in a Monday meeting about the switch at quarterback.

After Glenn admitted on Friday that he was “evaluating everything” on the team’s mini-bye week, forewarning something like this to come, and it shows another defining moment in Glenn’s tenure as New York’s head coach as one willing to make tough calls for the future of the team, as well as the short-term.

Fields has struggled since joining the team in March on a two-year, $40 million contract, and whether his future is with the Jets or not, it’s certainly not as the team’s 2026 starter.

He’s led them to a 2-8 record that’s currently good for the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NFL draft. The team owns two first rounders in this year’s draft, and three in 2027, as a result of trading away Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams to the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, respectively.

Fields didn’t have a great start to his career after being drafted by the Chicago Bears, and later in his stint with the Pittsburg Steelers, but the hope for New York was that some of that may have stunted his development, and there was a chance at unseen potential with Fields.

Unfortunately, Fields has led a passing attack that is ranked dead-last in the NFL with an average 139.9 air yards per game. He only has 1,259 passing yards this season with seven touchdowns to one interception, though he’s the second-leading rusher for the Jeys with 383 yards and a team-high four touchdowns on the ground.

That ability just isn’t enough to cover up the blemishes he has as a passer. Fields was initially replaced at halftime against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7, and sources indicated to ESPN that Glenn was considering a switch then. A knee injury to Taylor the next week foiled that plan, leading Fields to continue for the next few weeks.

That only lasted through Week 11, and for yet another season, New York has no long-term answer at quarterback. Aaron Rodgers was the starter for the team last year, and it was a fourth straight season of no stability. From 2021 to 2023, the Jets have started a new quarterback each year, including four in 2023 when Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1.

For now, it’ll be Taylor, who is 28-29-1 as a starter.