It’s already been a rough start for Justin Fields ahead of his preseason. The Jets have already dealt with injuries. Last season, Aaron Rodgers didn’t escape either, as he tore his Achilles in 2023. And now, Fields. During a practice session, he dislocated his right toe. Speaking of toe injuries, this is something that cannot be ignored in the league. There have been quite a few names for whom toe injuries became troublesome, such as Deion Sanders. This quickly stirred up concern, especially with the hype building around Fields. However, a former NFL player believes otherwise.

In fact, the NFL expert believes that this injury, often considered the worst nightmare for players, can be helpful for Fields. This is because of the QB’s one weakness. And this is Fields’ struggles as a pocket passer. Several analysts, such as ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, have questioned Fields’ abilities in the pocket. Mark Schlereth seemingly believes the same, claiming that the injury will eventually force Fields to confront his weakness.

Praising Fields, Mark said in an episode of The Stinkin’ Truth Podcast, “It could be a blessing in disguise because I think the thing you look at with Justin Fields is we know what the number one aspect to his game is and that is his ability to threaten the edge of a defense with both running and the RPO game and that’s really his strength.”

In an urge to advise him, Mark suggested, “while he’s not as efficient running the ball. He’s nursing that toe injury. So we’ve (Jets) got to adjust our offense a little bit and make him play from the pocket a little bit more, and all of a sudden, you could develop some skills. So hopefully it’s not a serious injury, and hopefully while he’s kind of recovering from it, he just continues to grow as a pocket passer, which he has done year in and year out. But that’s really the weakness of Justin Fields,” he said.

He explained how important it is for quarterbacks to be skilled pocket passers and to put up their best performances. Mark believes that while this is a temporary blow for the Jets and Fields, if the QB can improve, it will help the team in the long term. He further went on to talk about Lamar Jackson‘s journey to overcome his weaknesses as a pocket passer to become one of the most capable players in the league. “You look at Lamar Jackson, how much better Lamar has gotten over the course of his career from the pocket,” he argued.

The Ravens quarterback faced the same criticism of not being a pocket passer. Doug Gottlieb was quite harsh in criticizing Jackson. The QB actually proved that he can be a pocket passer. Fields has also made similar strides. USA Today’s Doug Farrar pulled out Fields’ stats to show that the narrative of Justin not being a pocket passer might be wrong.

“Per the Sports Info Solutions database, here are Fields’ statistics last season when throwing from the pocket with his feet planted — i.e., throwing from the pocket and not about to break out of the pocket: 155 attempts and 114 completions for 1,674 yards, 1,115 air yards, 17 touchdowns, and three interceptions,” he explained. However, the focus is on when Fields will be able to get back in action?

When will Justin Fields return?

After the injury, Fields is sidelined and listed as day-to-day with a toe injury. Now, the issue here is that the team hasn’t put a timeline on his return. However, the best part is that the injury might not be considered serious. Earlier, the head coach, Aaron Glenn, avoided any conversation about his injury.

Later, Glenn explained that he suspected an injury when he saw the player in the field. “When anybody goes down, there’s a lump in my throat. I hate injuries for any player. But the thing is, I want to make sure exactly what the injury is before I move forward on my thought process. I think the most important part is, if anything does happen to Justin, I don’t think there’s any drop-off as far as what we want to do when it comes to play,” he told reporters.

There’s one hope. That Fields will be back under center in time for Week 1, when the Jets open the season at home against the Steelers. Even though initial reports suggest there’s no major damage, Fields is still expected to miss some time as he recovers. However, Fields’s absence in the QB room will be felt.

Veteran Tyrod Taylor is the only one after Fields to have experience in the battle ground, with Adrian Martinez and Brady Cook, two young, developmental arms, filling out the rest of the QB room. If Fields’ recovery takes more time than expected, it’ll be likely up to Taylor to steady the ship.