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When it comes to Justin Fields, one big question about this player is – Can he stay healthy for an entire season with a proclivity to run a lot and take a lot of hits?
Fields has been through quite a bit on the injury front at Ohio State and with the Chicago Bears. He was healthy last year in Pittsburgh, but only started six games before giving way to Russell Wilson.
When you are a gutsy runner at the QB position like this player, obviously, you are given to taking some big shots in the open field, not just the hits you take on sacks.
Recently, a few beat writers had a chance to interview Jets passing game coordinator Scott Turner, who has an assistant in the NFL for 14 years, with six different stops. I asked him what QB in his journey had a similar style to the dual-threat ability of Fields.
“Cam Newton,” Turner said. “When I came into the league, I was a quality control coach and that was Cam’s rookie year and his second year in Carolina,” recalls Turner. “Then I went back (to Carolina) in ’18 and ’19, and I was the quarterback coach, so I was the quarterback coach for Cam in ’18 and ’19, but then he hurt his foot (’19) and was out for the season. But Cam was a guy who could do it all – running and throwing.”
As he mentioned, Cam suffered a foot injury. Then he had shoulder issues. Even though Cam is a big guy at 6-5, 245, the pounding he took as a runner ended his career at 32, after a decade in the league.
And Fields has had quite a few injuries over the year. His last year at Ohio State, he suffered a rib injury in a bowl game against Clemson, and then, a few months later, as a rookie in Chicago, he suffered another rib injury.
In his second year in Chicago, he suffered an AC joint sprain in his shoulder, and then in his third and last year with the Bears, he had a hip injury and then a right thumb issue. And keep him in mind, he also had a right thumb injury at Ohio State.
Jets QB coach Charles London also spoke during the spring, and I asked him about what Fields can do to protect himself better as a runner.
“I think a lot of it is just keen instinct and just making sure you get the yards you gotta get and if you gotta get down and slide to protect yourself,” London said.
QB coaches constantly go over film with running quarterbacks and review plays they can protect themselves better.
“It’s these little things we are trying to train him on,” London said. “Most of us are visual learners, so it’s showing him on film, ‘here is an issue, this is how we have to do a better job protecting ourselves here, or we did a great job here, but we didn’t there.’ Visually once guys see it, it really helps drive the point home.”
But after all these years as a running QB, from his days in high school in Kennesaw, GA to Georgia to Ohio State to the Bears to the Steelers, London feels Fields has a strong understanding at this point on how to stay out of harm’s way.
“He knows how to protect himself and that is a really big thing from when quarterbacks have to run – getting the yardage you need to get and also being able to protect yourself as well,” London said. “He does a good job of that, but we will talk through some things like that.”
The Jets intend to run Fields a lot, so they will keep their fingers crossed that with all his experience as a runner, he will err on the side of caution in the open field.
June 27, 2025
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