New York Jets starting quarterback Justin Fields is out for the team’s Week 3 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. For most teams, losing a starting signal-caller can spell doom every week.

The Jets are not one of those teams, though.

Few organizations have the kind of backup quarterback that Tyrod Taylor is. The Jets know they’ll have a chance as an underdog going into Sunday because Taylor will be leading the offense.

According to head coach Aaron Glenn, 31 other teams would want the kind of backup Taylor has always been.

Jets offense won’t falter with new QB

The former Virginia Tech product may be 36, but Taylor has carved out a 15-year NFL career thanks to his professionalism, skill, and ability to run different offensive systems.

It’s one of the big reasons the team is so confident that he can keep the offense afloat in Fields’ absence on the road against Tampa Bay.

“The fact that he’s been in this League for a long time, there’s no coverage, there’s no
pressure that he hasn’t seen,” Glenn said. “So, that’s why I have confidence in him, and he’s a very studious person, a good athlete; again, [he has] been around this league for a long time.

“There’s no better player that you would want as your backup quarterback than him at this point in time.”

Taylor is 28-28-1 as a starting quarterback in the NFL. Sunday will be the first time he starts a game for the Jets, though, and his first time in the starting lineup since 2023 with the New York Giants.

The veteran—who’s experienced stops with the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Los Angeles Chargers—has carved a role in the league as someone who can always keep a unit afloat if a starter goes down.

Speaking to reporters after practice on Wednesday, the veteran detailed his secret for being the perfect kind of backup for so many other teams around the league.

“I challenge myself each and every day to prepare like a starter because you never know when the opportunity will present itself,” Taylor said.

In limited work last week against the Buffalo Bills, Taylor went 7-11 for 56 yards and a touchdown pass in the 30-10 loss. He doesn’t have the biggest arm in the league, nor will he push the ball down the field for big plays (despite featuring a pretty deep ball).

Instead, Taylor stabilizes New York’s offense in a way that coaches like Glenn appreciate. For a 0-2 squad like the Jets, there are a lot worse backup quarterback options.

With Tyrod Taylor at the helm, he and the New York Jets are confident the offense won’t miss a beat without Justin Fields. Or, perhaps more importantly, the confidence suggests the offense can get back to its Week 1 production (or something of the sort).

Reporting from the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, NJ.