Fields spent one season in Pittsburgh after beginning his career with the Bears. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
I understand how difficult it might be to accept the fact that the New York Jets have made a clear, decisive and sober decision at the quarterback position—free of long-term financial strain, big-picture questions or calamitous side effects—but that is absolutely the case.
To kick off their common sense era, the team agreed to a two-year deal with Justin Fields worth no more than $40 million and only $30 million of that guaranteed. Fields was more than capable through six games last season as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ starter when he was replaced by Russell Wilson—a decision that was curious in and of itself and, if I had to guess, was not made unanimously by every single stakeholder in that offense.
At a granular level, he possesses an athleticism that can survive a muddy pocket, which is something none of his recent predecessors in New York—Aaron Rodgers and Zach Wilson—could do. By virtue of this alone, he was the correct choice for a team that has struggled to keep a healthy offensive line in front of its quarterbacks and struggled even more to maintain relevance once the front five took on a kind of painful anonymity.
Fields also played with Garrett Wilson at Ohio State, which, while likely not one of the top-100 reasons the Jets signed him, is a nice nod to an ascending player who has dealt with the insertion of a mercurial quarterback who struggles to adapt (Rodgers) and the trade for a possible future Hall of Famer who gobbled up his targets (Davante Adams). Bringing in his college teammate likely stymies any early rumblings of dissent.
And, though no one seems to be talking about it, I’ve found Fields to have gotten better each and every time a game has been placed on his shoulders. So much so that in January 2024, I argued for the Chicago Bears to keep him alongside Caleb Williams. Though the comparison between someone like Fields and former reclamation project success stories such as Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold isn’t totally apt, out of every quarterback on the market this offseason, Fields’s upside is the greatest and he has the widest breadth of scheme versatility.
The fact that the Jets got him at a largely noncommittal price is the stunning conclusion to the early free-agency period.
But beyond all this, it says a great deal that the Jets had a plan and executed it. Recovery from the absolute hilarity of the Aaron Rodgers era—less about Rodgers himself and more about an unrestrained owner making a series of haphazard dart throws to evade embarrassment, which further plunged the franchise into a cement mixer of its own making—is going to take many baby steps.
The first and most important one was not being batted around in the wind during an offseason unlike any other, where the demand for veteran quarterbacks far exceeds the pool and where some teams such as the Los Angeles Rams are hoarding capable starters. During the heat of the Rodgers negotiations two years ago, the Jets were essentially competing against themselves for a player no one else was sure they wanted.
This offseason offered a similar minefield. Fields seemed to be a backup plan in Pittsburgh. And with Darnold unlikely to consider the New York area code ever again, the Jets were one misstep away from where the New York Giants seem to be—aggressively talking themselves into thinking that they can be the team to finally unravel the mystery of late-career Russell Wilson.
To be clear, this is no guarantee of success. Rather, it’s simply an indicator of newfound competence, which was absolutely necessary as Woody Johnson takes a step backward into the penalty box of optics. Free agency is largely settled weeks and months before the legality of these negotiations are blessed by the NFL and when the gun goes off, one can see which teams have laid the groundwork versus those that are simply being taken out with the tide.
It’s hard enough right now to get any quarterback, but even more difficult to get one who could still get materially better at his job and isn’t making a salary commensurate with any of the top-20 highest-paid players at the position; one who could pacify a fan base that finished the year with a new definition of bewilderment, calm players who felt the familiar tug of directionlessness and, ultimately, aid the current iteration of the roster in winning some games.
We are a long, long way from forgiveness; from feeling the hangover coming to an end or even talking oneself into believing again. But the course of Monday didn’t make those in Florham Park sick to their stomachs. That is an overwhelming win.
