Tyrod Taylor knows he will be under a microscope at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday in place of the injured Justin Fields when he steps onto the field as the Jets' starting quarterback against Tampa Bay. He also knows that as a long-term backup in the NFL, you always have to be ready.
"I embrace it," he said after practice on Wednesday. "God has a plan for everyone. Obviously, you want to be out there playing, but there's other ways that you can affect the team in a positive way. And as I stay and wait for my time, my opportunity to present itself, I can't be a bad teammate. I can't sulk in or what-if, or what should happen.
"The reality of is that you have to be in the moment, and I've learned to be more vocal over the years. I think as a quarterback, eyes are always on you, so how you are when you're up, when you're down, when things aren't going your way, is a reflection of your character. So I've never been one to, I guess, question why my time isn't right then or right now, it's more so just prepare myself for whenever it does happen and that I make the most of it."
Over his two seasons with the Jets, Taylor, 36, has made three game appearances covering 5 series and 4 TDs in 2024-25. Last week, in mop up work against Buffalo, he hit on 7-of-11 passes for 56 yards, which included a 5-yard TD pass to TE Jeremy Ruckert. It was Ruckert's first scoring play of his NFL career.
Taylor missed the recent preseason after undergoing minor knee surgery but never missed time in meetings or with his teammates.
"I know you guys didn't see me on the field, but I missed one day away from the facility after my surgery," he said. "Other than that, I was here every day. I sat in on every meeting, wasn't able to be out on the field for practice or walk-through, but I was in every meeting. ... Because I knew when the time did come, whether it was to support Justin as the No. 2 role, or to be out there leading the guys that I had to be ready. And with me missing training camp, I took those reps and that mental preparation seriously because I couldn't do anything physically."
On Wednesday, HC Aaron Glenn made it official with Fields still in the concussion protocol and needing to get Taylor working with the ones in a full week of practice before facing the unbeaten Bucs (2-0).
"There is no coverage, there is no pressure that he hasn't seen," Glenn said of Taylor. "So that's why I have confidence in him and he's a very studious person, good athlete. Again, been around this league for a long time. There is no better player you would want as your backup quarterback than him at this point of time."
Glenn's expression of confidence was picked up on by CB Sauce Gardner.
"I mean, Tyrod's been playing this game for a minute, you know?" Gardner said. "So we always go against him in practice, so we know he's more than capable of getting the job done. So we're not thinking like, no, drop-off. That's not our mentality. The coaches believe in Tyrod, u as players, we believe in Tyrod. And we know, he's a confident guy, person, confident player."
Taylor (6-1, 217) is playing with his seventh NFL team after the Virginia Tech product was selected in the sixth round (No. 180 overall) by Baltimore in the 2011 NFL Draft. He is a career 61.9% passer who has 69 TDs and 29 INTs. Taylor has also rushed for 2,302 yards and has 19 scores on the ground.
"Back in 2011 when I got drafted, I tried to challenge myself with the same mindset," Taylor said. "That was the first time that I had to sit. I started as a freshman in high school, started early in college, but I challenged myself each and every day to prepare like a starter, because you never know when an opportunity will present itself. The main thing is you don't want to, obviously, let your team down, but you want to prove to yourself that you're capable of doing what you know you can do. And that's been the mentality since Day 1 in my career."
