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Rich Cimini
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Justin Fields’ first season with the New York Jets — and, quite possibly, his last — is officially over.
The former starting quarterback was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, an ignominious cap to a disappointing season.
Fields, who was benched Nov. 17, has been bothered in recent weeks by what the team called knee “soreness.” He returned to practice last week but told reporters that he still wasn’t healthy enough to play. He was inactive for the past three games.
“Man, we tried to see how we can get this to work, but it wasn’t getting as better as we would like it,” coach Aaron Glenn said. “So, we want to make sure we get a focus on that to make sure we get him better.”
In all likelihood, Fields wouldn’t have played anyway.
He reported soreness two weeks after his benching and hasn’t played since. He was replaced by Tyrod Taylor, who got hurt in his third start. That led the Jets (3-12) to undrafted rookie Brady Cook, who will make his third start Sunday against the New England Patriots at MetLife Stadium.
There’s a good chance the Jets will part ways with Fields in the offseason.
The former Chicago Bears first-round pick signed a two-year, $40 million contract in free agency and was named the starter in the offseason, but he fell short of modest expectations.
Fields went 2-7 as the starter, ranking 28th out of 32 qualified passers in Total QBR (37.3) — below his career mark (45.3). He passed for only 505 yards in his past five starts, prompting Glenn to bench him.
Glenn declined to comment on whether Fields will need surgery. He also wouldn’t address Fields’ future, saying he’s focused on New England.
“Any player that doesn’t have the season that we would like for them to have, it’s always disappointing,” Glenn said. “I don’t want to just focus on Justin with this — and I know that’s the question asked — but any player that we have high hopes for and the season don’t go the way we want to go, we’re always disappointed with that.”
Fields is due to count $23 million on the 2026 cap, including $20 million in salary ($10 million guaranteed). There would be $22 million in dead money if the Jets cut him, which can be spread over two years if he’s designated as a post-June 1 cut.
The Jets might opt for a complete reset at quarterback, which could mean adding a veteran and a rookie.
Fields raised eyebrows Nov. 26 with a response to a question about whether he would be open to a small package of plays as a Wildcat quarterback — a way to capitalize on his speed. Fields said there had been discussions about using him in that role, but he told reporters that he had “mixed feelings” about it.
He said he wanted to be a team player but expressed concern about the potential for injury, saying he would be prone to soft tissue injuries from going into a game cold. He noted that he was “still not necessarily as healthy as I want to be right now.” He was listed with a knee injury for one week in October; it didn’t cost him any practice time.
Fields, 26, missed Week 3 with a concussion but returned to start the next seven games. Glenn was prepared to bench him in Week 8 — the same week owner Woody Johnson was publicly critical of Fields — but the coach stayed with him because Taylor was out with a knee injury that flared up late in the week.
Fields responded with his best game of the season, throwing for 244 yards in a comeback win over the Cincinnati Bengals, but it was downhill from there.
