FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- The winless New York Jets are going to the bullpen this week, summoning quarterback Tyrod Taylor -- their master of mop-up -- to handle a high-leverage situation.
In his past three appearances -- two last season, then last Sunday -- Taylor has orchestrated four touchdown drives in five possessions. That's an insanely good success rate -- video-game stuff.
Of course, not only is it a small body of work, but we're talking about fourth-quarter appearances in which the Jets' deficits were 19, 40 and 27 points, respectively, when he entered those contests.
The circumstances will be quite a bit different Sunday against the undefeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 p.m. ET, Fox). Taylor will start for Justin Fields (concussion), meaning the Jets (0-2) are leaning on the well-traveled, 36-year-old to spark their season against a 2024 playoff team on the road.
A huge challenge.
"The fact that he's been in this league for a long time, there's no coverage, there's no pressure, that he hasn't seen," Jets coach Aaron Glenn said Wednesday. "That's why I have confidence in him. He's a very studious person, a good athlete. ... There's no better player that you'd want as your backup quarterback than him at this point in time."
By Sunday, it will be 624 days since Taylor's last start -- Jan. 7, 2024, when he started the final game in a 6-11, musical-quarterbacks kind of season for the New York Giants. He moved to a different part of New Jersey last season to become the Jets' quarterback not named Aaron Rodgers, sticking around this year to back up Fields.
Taylor is one of the most respected players in the Jets' locker room, known for his drip and understated personality. Some players consider him the coolest dude on the team. He's not loud, but his résumé screams -- seven teams over 15 seasons and a 28-28-1 record as a starter. He's one of only five players from his 2011 draft class still active in the league.
"He's a true professional in every manner that you can think of," Glenn said. "He's not one of these locker room lawyers. He doesn't point the finger. I'm going to go to what I like about quarterbacks: He's not a celebrity quarterback. He's just one of the guys."
"Super swaggy. The Aura King," guard John Simpson said of Taylor. "He's a born leader."
Taylor might be beloved, but there are factors working against him this week. For one, he hasn't played a lot of football. He sat out the entire preseason because of arthroscopic knee surgery, causing him to miss five weeks of practice. He practiced the past two weeks, taking minimal reps as Fields' backup.
Glenn dismissed the notion of rust, snapping, "He's had 14 years of reps, so he's not new to this."
Taylor insisted he's not worried about the layoff, saying he missed only one day at the facility after surgery. Beyond that, he attended meetings and took mental reps, trying to absorb as much of the new offense as he could during his rehab.
Taylor (7-for-11, 56 yards) did play well Sunday, throwing a 5-yard touchdown to Jeremy Ruckert on his second and final possession, but the degree of difficulty wasn't high. The Buffalo Bills, sitting on a cushy lead, played soft zones, conceding modest chunks of yardage. It'll be harder against the Bucs, known for their blitz-heavy attack.
He might be a better pure passer than Fields, but he doesn't run as well, all but eliminating that dimension from the offense. Fields is the second-leading rusher (97 yards) on the team, most of it coming on scrambles. The Jets can continue to employ a zone-read package with Taylor, who moves reasonably well for his age, but do they really want him taking off with the ball?
Taylor has battled durability issues throughout his career, so the injury risk is real. In recent years, he has missed time because of broken ribs (2023), a concussion (2022), left wrist (2021), hamstring (2021) and a punctured lung (2020). The latter occurred when he received a painkilling injection for a rib injury when playing for the Los Angeles Chargers. At the time, he was starting ahead of rookie Justin Herbert.
Taylor has had a career of what-ifs, but he's always been known as a good teammate.
"I think, as a quarterback, eyes are always on you," Taylor said. "So how you are when you're up, when you're down and things aren't going your way is a reflection of your character. So I've never been one to, I guess, question why my time isn't right then or right now. It's just to prepare myself for whenever it does happen that I make the most of it."
Most of the Jets' players don't know about Taylor's history, the good and bad. All they know is what they've seen with their own eyes. When he's in, they score.
"He wants everything to be perfect, as if he was the No. 1 guy," Simpson said. "That's all you can ask for."