QB Justin Fields placed on IR with Jets future uncertain

FLORHAM PARK, NJ — 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 capstone to a disappointing season.

Fields, who was benched Nov. 17, has been bothered in recent weeks by what the team called a “soreness” in his knee. He returned to practice last week, but told reporters he was still not healthy enough to play. He was inactive for the last three games.

“Man, we tried to see how we could make it work, but it wasn’t improving as well as we would like,” coach Aaron Glenn said. “So we want to make sure we focus on that to make sure we improve it.”

In all likelihood, Fields wouldn’t have played anyway.

He reported soreness two weeks after being benched and hasn’t played since. He was replaced by Tyrod Taylor, who was injured 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 part ways with Fields this offseason.

The former first-round pick of the Chicago Bears signed a two-year, $40 million contract in free agency and was named the starter during the offseason, but he failed to live up to modest expectations.

Fields went 2-7 as a starter, ranking 28th out of 32 qualified passers in Total QBR (37.3) – below his career mark (45.3). He only managed 505 yards in his last five starts, prompting Glenn to bench him.

Glenn declined to say whether Fields would need surgery. He also wouldn’t talk about Fields’ future, saying his focus is on New England.

“Any player that doesn’t have the season that we would like 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 being asked – but any player that we have high hopes for and whose season doesn’t go the way we want it to, we’re always disappointed with that.”

Fields is expected to count $23 million against 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 could stretch over two years if he is designated as cut after June 1.

The Jets could go for a complete quarterback reset, which could mean adding a veteran and a rookie.

Fields raised eyebrows Nov. 26 when responding to a question about whether he would be open to a small set of games as the Wildcats’ quarterback — a way to capitalize on his speed. Fields said there had been discussions about using him in that role, but he told reporters he had “mixed feelings” about it.

He said he wanted to play as a team, but expressed concerns about the risk of injury, saying he would be prone to soft tissue injuries if he had a cold. He noted that he was “not necessarily as healthy as I would like to be right now.” He was listed with a knee injury for a week in October; it didn’t cost him any training time.

Fields, 26, missed Week 3 with a concussion but returned to start the next seven games. Glenn was ready to bench him in Week 8 — the same week owner Woody Johnson publicly criticized Fields — but the coach stuck with him because Taylor was out with a knee injury that flared 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 things went downhill from there.