New York Jets fans are used to ending the season early. For about 20 minutes on Thursday morning, the calendar turned to 2026.
Quarterback Justin Fields suffered what appeared to be a lower-body injury during the morning's practice, and after limping off the field, he took the cart back to the facility.
Between the high cortisol levels ingrained in Jets fans and some vaguely worded tweets, the New York faithful ran with the panic of another year without a starting quarterback. Fortunately, Fields will be fine. The team announced that he dislocated a toe in his right foot and is considered day-to-day.
What fans learned from Fields' injury
The opening days of training camp are meant to welcome unabashed optimism and the relentless sense of hope that one feels after watching "Superman" at their local theater. New head coach Aaron Glenn and Darren Mougey must prove themselves with wins and playoff appearances before truly winning over the fanbase, but they've had plenty of opportunities to make mistakes this offseason, and the early returns have been favorable.
That trend continued on Thursday as the team handled the injury and the speculation surrounding it.
What stood out most was Glenn's honesty. After years of New York's coaches being vague, feigning optimism, and otherwise offering little clarity when it comes to medicals, Glenn followed Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell's footsteps.
"I don't know the severity of the injury," he said, via the team's website. "I do know it's a toe on his right side."
Glenn, of course, just witnessed the Lions overcome seemingly every injury in the book on the way to the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Fields missing time would put an immediate dent in New York's shaky playoff hopes, but this far out from the season, there was little reason to incite panic.
"I've been there and done that," Glenn said. "It becomes a mentality for the most part. The thing I have to do is make sure I can transition that mentality to everybody else."
MORE: Inside the Jets' QB depth chart after Justin Fields injury
He also praised the Jets' Plan B, Tyrod Taylor, and expressed confidence in his team's ability to roll with the punches.
"Tyrod's been in this league 14 years. With the leadership he brings, we're all good," Glenn said. "I think the most important part is that if anything does happen to Justin, I don't think there's any dropoff as far as what we want to do when it comes to play call. They're very similar when you talk about skillset, that was very enticing to us."
New York dodged a bullet on Thursday, but Glenn sent the message that the Jets will be just fine, regardless of who's under center. In many ways, they're expected to be something between the 2021 and 2022 Lions: feisty as a precursor to competitive. A blip on the injury radar isn't going to knock that off course.
After the chaos of previous administrations, Glenn's steady demeanor has earned New York another offseason victory ahead of a pivotal 2025 season.
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