The Jets will start Tyrod Taylor vs. the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore.
"It was purely my decision," HC Aaron Glenn said Wednesday. "I thought it was the time to do it."
Taylor (6-1, 217) has appeared in three games this season and completed 62.3% of his passes (43 -of -69) for 379 yards with 3 TDs and 3 INTs. He started against the Buccaneers in Week 3, hitting on 26-of-36 passes (72.2%) for 197 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT.
Justin Fields has started nine games for the Jets this season, totaling 11 TDs (7 pass and 4 rush) with 1 INT. In last Thursday's 27-14 loss to the Patriots, Fields went 15-of-26 passing for 116 yards and had a 5-yard scoring run and a 22-yard TD pass to John Metchie III.
"I had good conversations with both of those guys," Glenn said. "These situations are not always easy but as a head coach you have do what's best for the team. I felt like it was best for the team."
Taylor, a Virginia Tech product in his 15th season, will return to Baltimore after entering the NFL as a sixth-round pick (No. 180 overall) of the Ravens in 2011. He played his first four seasons with the Ravens and served as Joe Flacco's primary backup. In 97 games with seven different teams, Taylor has compiled a 28-29-1 record and has passed for 12,633 yards with 71 TDs and 32 INTs. He also has run for 19 scores.
"It starts with me just doing my job and asking, obviously, everyone else on the offense, all 11 of us, to execute our job efficiently," Taylor said recently about the possibility of starting. "We don't have to be more than what the moment calls for. It's about us executing one play at a time and us being on the same page, believing in one another, believing in the scheme, and going out there and playing free, not putting pressure on ourselves. Just play free and execute at a high level."
The Jets rank 32nd and 30th in pass yards/game (141.6) and pass yards/play (5.09). They will play at least the next three games without star WR Garrett Wilson (IR, knee) and are continuing to implement more packages for recent trade acquisitions Adonai Mitchell and Metchie.
"You want your passing game to be better," Glenn said. "And that's not totally on [Fields]. There are a number of things that go into that -- that's myself, that's the routes that are run, that's dropped balls, that's including him. And at this point, I just feel like we have to do something to get this team going offensively in the passing game. And I just felt like it was time to make that decision."
Taylor, 36, is one of three players (K Nick Folk, 41;, and LS Thomas Hennessy, 31) who are 30-plus on the Jets' young roster.
"Each game is going to look different from a statistical standpoint, but it's really about winning and putting your team in the best situation to win week in and week out," Taylor said last month. "There's going to be ups and downs through all this. You play long enough, there's going to be a ton of ups and downs. But just stay focused, stay confident, believe in yourself, believe in your teammates, and continue to keep having fun. This is a kid's game, a lot of us started playing when we were young, and it was just for the pure excitement and enjoyment of being around one another. So, never let downtimes rob you from the joy of this game because like I said, it's a kid's game, and we're fortunate and blessed to be able to still play it at this age."
Fields will serve as Taylor's backup while rookie Brady Cook, a Missouri product on the practice squad who was elevated for two games, remains the team's No. 3.
"There has been a plan for him from the very beginning," Glenn said of Cook. "I wanted to make sure we did what's right for him and who knows, we'll see what happens as the season progresses. I'm not promising anything, but he knows exactly what his role is when it comes to this team. But I'll say right now Tyrod is our starter."
