The Jets quarterback decision will remain unsolved — at least publicly — going into the weekend.
Head coach Aaron Glenn declined to name a starter between Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor for the third time this week, instead opting for secrecy and clinging to what he previously described as a competitive advantage Friday heading into the matchup between the 0-7 Jets and the Bengals on Sunday. He fielded question after question about it during his news conference, from whether Taylor (knee) could start physically to whether this has impacted game preparation, and Glenn successfully dodged each one.
“That’s exactly why I’m saying it: Because I don’t want to,” Glenn said after the fifth quarterback question. “I don’t know how many times I gotta answer that. It’s not gonna change.”
Tyrod Taylor (left) and Justin Fields at Jets practice on Oct. 17, 2025. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Taylor was a limited participant in practice for a third consecutive day and officially listed as questionable. When asked if the players know about the decision, Glenn said he’d keep that between him and the players. When asked if starters have gotten normal reps, Glenn said that’s between him and his Gang Green players, too.
“We had a great week of practice with our guys,” Glenn said, when asked if this has impacted preparation at all. “Our guys know, we’re gonna keep that between us and that’s how it’s gonna be.”
Fields was benched at halftime during the loss to the Panthers on Sunday, and then owner Woody Johnson blasted his signal-caller’s play during a session with reporters at the NFL owners meetings two days later — saying “it’s hard when you have a quarterback with the rating that we’ve got,” Johnson said.
“If we could just complete a pass, it would look good,” Johnson said. “You have to convince them that you can do something, otherwise it’s hard to have a game that you can win. … You can’t run the ball if you can’t pass the ball. That’s Football 101.”
Aaron Glenn won’t say who the Jets’ starting quarterback is. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
It is now conceivable — with this being Glenn’s last media session before the game — that the starter may not be known until pregame warmups, unless the news leaks out. As Lions defensive coordinator, Glenn faced a similar scenario to what the Bengals have needed to navigate this week. Detroit was set to play the Packers in an October 2024 showdown, and Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur declined to reveal whether backup Malik Willis or an injured Jordan Love would start.
That made it tough, Glenn said, because the Lions needed to prepare for both signal-callers — “so I don’t see why we think this is something that hasn’t been done,” Glenn said Friday.
CB Sauce Gardner (concussion), wide receiver Garrett Wilson (knee), RB Kene Nwangwu (concussion), LB Cam Jones (hip), TE Stone Smartt (quad) and DL Jay Tufele (knee) were ruled out for Sunday. … WR Josh Reynolds (hip) was added to the injury report, didn’t practice Friday and was listed as questionable. Taylor, Breece Hall (knee, full participant), TE Mason Taylor (quad, limited participant) and Quincy Williams (shoulder, full participant) were also listed as questionable. CB Qwan’tez Stiggers (hip), edge rusher Jermaine Johnson and CB Michael Carter II (concussion) were all full participants and didn’t carry an injury designation into the weekend.
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The Jets claimed linebacker Kobe King off waivers from the Vikings. He was a sixth-round pick in April’s draft and appeared almost exclusively on special teams through five games with Minnesota before getting waived Thursday.
Star Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip), who missed Cincinnati’s Week 7 win, was listed as questionable after not practicing Friday. He was a limited participant Wednesday and Thursday.