Aaron Glenn’s latest defense of Justin Fields included a reference to the past two MVPs, a thought that Fields gets the ball out quicker than them and a through line of how fast time-to-throw numbers don’t always translate to positive results.
“You look at Lamar [Jackson], I think Lamar, his numbers getting the ball out is higher than Justin’s,” Glenn said Friday. “I think Josh Allen’s numbers are higher than Justin’s, but I think everybody tends to see who those guys are and understand that. And for some reason, they don’t understand Justin.”
Except Glenn’s comparison — on a topic he acknowledged “everyone talks about” — wasn’t exactly accurate.
Among quarterbacks who’ve taken at least 20 percent of their team’s dropbacks this season, Fields has the highest time-to-throw mark in the league at 3.22, according to Pro Football Focus. Jackson’s has the third-highest at 3.15. And Allen sits lower on the list at 3.05. Fields’ best time-to-throw number occurred Week 5 (2.88), but three of his other four starts have resulted in marks above 3.34.
So Glenn’s answer turned into another strange podium moment as pressure mounts following the Jets’ 0-6 start entering Sunday’s game against the Panthers. In the aftermath of their loss in London, when asked if Fields would remain his starter, Glenn responded with, “Come on, man, what kind of question is that?” Then, Wednesday, when asked if Fields needs to take more chances, Glenn agreed that’s the case but also added, “If something bad happens, you guys are going to be bitching about that.”
His support of Fields — who signed a two-year, $40 million deal in the offseason — hasn’t wavered, even with proven backup Tyrod Taylor waiting as a potential spark. Fields starred in the opener with 218 passing yards, 48 rushing yards and three total touchdowns, but he has collected just four total touchdowns in his four games since (he missed Week 3 with a concussion). He was sacked nine times Sunday and finished with minus-10 passing yards, the worst mark in franchise history.
Earlier this week, Fields didn’t hide his desire to become more aggressive. He has wanted to take care of the ball — and still hasn’t thrown an interception — but admitted there’s a “healthy balance between trying to maybe fit it in smaller windows and just letting it rip.” Fixing his feet will help with that, he said, and Fields, who was benched by the Steelers last year and dumped by a Bears franchise that selected him No. 11 overall in 2021, doesn’t want to get caught up worrying about a quarterback change.
“I’m not sitting here saying that there aren’t some times when he needs to get the ball out,” Glenn said of Fields. “He knows that, he articulated that to you guys. We’re going to continue to work on that as much as we can.”
But where Glenn missed the mark in his latest support of Fields centered around the names he grouped Fields with.
Glenn opted to compare Fields’ approach with Jackson, who won two MVPs, presented a strong case to win a third in 2024 and had already collected 11 total touchdowns in 2025 before missing the last two games. Allen has likewise rewritten record after record with the blend of his throwing and rushing abilities, and he has topped 30 total touchdowns in each of the last six seasons. Jackson has surpassed that threshold twice — and threw for 41 touchdowns last year alone. Fields has yet to top 30 in a season.
“When you look at the time he gets the ball out, some of those have been his best games, when he’s holding the ball three seconds or what not,” Glenn said. “That’s who he is. Sometimes it’s play calls, the way he sees things.”
Against the Steelers in Week 1, Fields had an average of 3.38 seconds to his throws and produced his best game of the season. Three weeks later against the Dolphins, he had a season-high mark of 3.65 seconds to throw and managed to produce a pair of touchdowns. The cost of those extra moments in and around the pocket, though, is captured by Fields’ 19 sacks this season, the second-most in the NFL behind the Titans’ Cam Ward.
That doesn’t mean Fields won’t continue to get chances. His latest will unfold against the Panthers — who have allowed the 10th-fewest yards per game (308.3) this season. Glenn has continued to defend Fields in news conference after news conference, even as the results fail to materialize.
And even as the references continue to get more obscure.
