Former Buckeyes star facing crossroads in NFL career with benching looming

Ever since former Ohio State Buckeyes star quarterback Justin Fields left school and entered the NFL, it has been a rough road for him.

Fields was a two-year starter at Ohio State, where he led the Big Ten in passing yards and touchdowns in both seasons in 2019 and 2020. In his last year with the Buckeyes, he led them to the national title, where they lost to Alabama 52-24.

He went on to be the 11th overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, where he had an up-and-down three years there. Fields finished ninth in the MVP voting in 2022 after throwing for 2,242 yards and a career-high 17 touchdowns, while also rushing for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns.

Fields was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024, where he experienced a resurgence in his career, going 4-2 as the starter at the beginning of the season. That led him to land a two-year contract with the New York Jets this past offseason.

The 2025 campaign has been miserable for Fields, as he has gone 0-6 as the starter, throwing for just 845 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions, and adding 257 rushing yards and three touchdowns. While the Jets have not been winning, the off-the-field distractions have hit an all-time high for the former Buckeye.

Jets owner Woody Johnson had some choice words regarding his starting quarterback, and Fields certainly took some shots from the man who writes his checks.

"It looks like [Glenn] is turning around parts of [the team]," Johnson said. "It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we got. He has the ability but something is just, it's not jiving. But you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that you're going to see similar results across the league. You have to play consistently at that position and that's what we're going to try to do."

"If we could just complete a pass, it would look good."

Throughout Fields' NFL career, he has continuously been doubted for his ability to pass the football. The stats show that he's struggling with his 63.7% completion percentage, but there is a lot else wrong with the Jets than just their quarterback play.

There is now speculation that Fields is on the verge of getting benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor due to his poor play. It feels like the start of the end of Fields' starting career in the NFL.

The ability is still there for Fields, so a backup job in the NFL will still be available for him. It's just a tough sight for any Ohio State fan to see a player they loved take the beating in the media and organization that Fields is taking.