Justin Fields gets Jets' offense going late in training camp

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Justin Fields had his foot stepped on plenty of times as a quarterback, but something felt different when it happened at Jets camp last Thursday.

“I tried walking off and it felt weird like something was almost stuck in my toe,” Fields said following practice Tuesday. “I didn’t really know what to think. I just knew something was wrong.”

Fields and the Jets breathed a huge sigh of relief that he only suffered a dislocated toe on his right foot. He was back on the field moving around the next day. Fields fully participated in the last two practices.

He’s wearing a plastic protective covering on his right cleat now. Fields said his toe is “working its way back to 100% now.” He used his legs on a couple of plays Tuesday.

“God was definitely looking out,” Fields said. “I’m blessed to be here today, blessed to be on the practice field.”

Aaron Glenn and the Jets’ new coaching staff picked Fields to run the offense and tailored it to his strengths. Fields was aware of the panic his injury created among Jets fans on social media. He said his phone blew up right away.

Garrett Wilson, who played with Fields at Ohio State, was concerned at first. Wilson called Fields “a tough cat.” Wilson remembers Fields breaking his ribs in a game against Clemson and not missing a play.

“He's just that type of guy,” Wilson said. “So for me, it's always, like, if Justin goes down, I know it's likely serious if he leaves the field. Because of that, I was very relieved to see him the next day, trying to get reps again.”

Fields wasn’t as sharp in Tuesday’s practice as he was Monday. The defense definitely won the day.

It wasn’t until the Jets’ fourth and final series, during the two-minute drill, that Fields completed his first pass. He was 0-for-3 to that point. It included a couple of drops and a completion that was negated by a would-be sack.

Fields completed four of his last five passes, including a touchdown throw to rookie tight end Mason Taylor to end practice. Fields also kept the drive alive, avoiding the rush and scrambling for a first down on fourth-and-2.

“We started out very slow,” Fields said. “The last part of practice I think we ramped it up a bit. We definitely want to come out with a stronger start. We can’t have a few bad reps and then bring it all up and talk to each other and decide, ‘Let’s go.’ It’s got to be right out of the gate.”

Glenn praised the defensive effort throughout practice, but he also gave the offense high marks for finishing the way it did.

“You want to see that,” Glenn said. “It just goes back to everything I talk about with the guys. Things are going to happen in this game that you're not going to like, but how do you respond to that?

“When you get in stressful situations, that's one thing I have to coach – that it's never over. I want guys to always understand we can always win the game no matter what the situation is. And that kind of proves the point of our offense not having a good day, but then two minutes to go they went in there and drove to score.”

Change is good

Wilson said he loves the competitiveness of Glenn’s practices. Wilson is the latest Jet to say how different things are now and there are certain things that remind him of college.

“It’s not just talking about being competitive,” Wilson said. “It’s like, no, no, no, you got to train that way. It's got to feel like that at practice. It’s got to feel like if you lose, it sucks at practice, it can't just be, ‘Oh, you know, we'll turn it on when the game comes, right?’ And I think that's the main thing that I see that's just the way we're practicing, the intensity.

Two-minute drill

Braelon Allen didn’t practice due to knee soreness, Glenn said . . . The Jets signed former UFL offensive lineman Liam Fornadel, who spent most of last season on the Patriots' practice team. They waived guard Gus Hartwig with an injury designation. He suffered a knee injury Monday.