Justin Fields left practice today with a dislocated toe, but the Jets are optimistic he won’t be sidelined for long. They’re calling him day-to-day, meaning he should be healthy long before the season opener against the Steelers.
Per NFL Network inside Ian Rapoport, the injury isn’t to Fields’ big toe. That makes it less like it will result in a nagging issue that hampers his mobility. Turf-toe injuries can be slow to heal, but this seems like something different.
A toe injury is more notable with Fields, with mobility being his strongest asset. Over the past three years, he’s been the most potent running quarterback in the league, averaging 60 rushing yards in 34 starts, with 17 TDs. The Jets likely signed him in part because of the success he had against Aaron Glenn’s defenses when both were in the NFC North. Three of Fields’ four best running games have come against Detroit (147, 132 and 104 yards).
Admittedly, the passing production has been pretty rough. Over the past three years, he’s averaged only 174 passing yards in his 34 starts, and with only 38 TD passes. And he’s been plagued by a tendency to take sacks.
But in typical fantasy leagues, stats are worth about twice as much when they come on runs. Fields since 2022 ranks 8th in per-game production among the 25 quarterbacks who’ve started at least half the time. He ranked 6th and 9th in his last two years in Chicago, and he was above average last year until the Steelers replaced him with Russell Wilson.
I’m not a big Fields fan, but he makes some sense as a second quarterback in a 12-team league.
| QUARTERBACKS: POINTS PER START (2022-24) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | Pass | TDP | Run | TDR | Pts |
| Josh Allen | 50 | 246.4 | 1.84 | 36.3 | .70 | 27.8 |
| Jalen Hurts | 47 | 222.6 | 1.34 | 42.4 | .89 | 26.2 |
| Lamar Jackson | 45 | 224.3 | 1.82 | 55.6 | .27 | 25.8 |
| Joe Burrow | 43 | 272.1 | 2.16 | 12.7 | .16 | 24.6 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 49 | 272.7 | 1.92 | 21.5 | .12 | 24.3 |
| Brock Purdy | 36 | 256.7 | 1.72 | 13.3 | .22 | 22.4 |
| Dak Prescott | 37 | 252.8 | 1.89 | 12.9 | .11 | 22.3 |
| Justin Fields | 34 | 173.8 | 1.12 | 59.7 | .50 | 22.2 |
| Jared Goff | 51 | 267.5 | 1.88 | 2.9 | .06 | 21.7 |
| Kyler Murray | 36 | 222.7 | 1.25 | 34.3 | .31 | 21.7 |
| Jordan Love | 32 | 235.9 | 1.78 | 10.3 | .16 | 21.2 |
| Tua Tagovailoa | 41 | 269.2 | 1.78 | 4.7 | .00 | 21.2 |
| Trevor Lawrence | 43 | 236.6 | 1.33 | 17.4 | .28 | 20.9 |
| Baker Mayfield | 44 | 234.6 | 1.73 | 14.1 | .11 | 20.9 |
| Kirk Cousins | 39 | 266.3 | 1.67 | 3.1 | .05 | 20.8 |
| Justin Herbert | 47 | 249.9 | 1.45 | 14.5 | .11 | 20.6 |
| Geno Smith | 49 | 249.5 | 1.45 | 16.2 | .08 | 20.5 |
| Russell Wilson | 41 | 221.4 | 1.41 | 18.9 | .20 | 19.9 |
| C.J. Stroud | 32 | 244.8 | 1.34 | 12.5 | .09 | 19.5 |
| Daniel Jones | 32 | 193.3 | .78 | 36.8 | .31 | 18.5 |
| Derek Carr | 42 | 227.3 | 1.52 | 5.1 | .02 | 18.3 |
| Matthew Stafford | 40 | 245.4 | 1.35 | 2.9 | .03 | 18.2 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 35 | 216.9 | 1.54 | 5.7 | .03 | 18.0 |
| Bryce Young | 28 | 186.6 | .93 | 17.6 | .21 | 16.2 |
| Mac Jones | 32 | 203.9 | .94 | 8.9 | .06 | 15.3 |
—Ian Allan