Why Jets’ low-risk signing of Justin Fields is worth the potentially-high reward

There’s no grandiose expectation Justin Fields is the Jets new franchise quarterback. In all likelihood, he’s not. There’s a reason the Bears traded him. There’s a reason the Steelers benched him. Those reasons are why the Jets are his third team in as many years.

But the Jets needed another quarterback this offseason – someone to pair with Tyrod Taylor. Assess those available, and if you’re going to take a chance, there’s no better than the former first-round pick.

He has athleticism. He has arm strength. He has leadership.

For $40 million over two years, the very low risk is worth the potentially-high reward.

The Jets find themselves in a bit of a unique situation. The Zach Wilson draft pick was a disaster. They tried to band-aid it with Aaron Rodgers, but even that blew up in their face. So they enter 2025 with a new coach (Aaron Glenn), new general manager (Darren Mougey), but no real answer at the sport’s most important position.

Normal circumstances: You draft one in the first round. If you can’t get there organically, then trade up. Only these are not normal circumstances. This draft class is among the weakest at the quarterback position since 2022 (Kenny Pickett). You could make an argument for the Jets drafting Cam Ward (Miami) or Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) at No. 7, but it’s highly unlikely either is there and neither is worth trading up for.

So, Mougey and Glenn needed to get creative in what’s very clearly a bridge year. You already have Taylor, among the most respected players in the locker room. Now you add Fields. They might even through a rookie into the mix they draft on Day 2 (Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart).

The same year the Jets drafted Wilson the Bears took Fields 11th overall. He’s started 44 games since (38 for Chicago, six for Pittsburgh). He’s 14-30. Statistically, though, things don’t look that bad. He’s a career 61.1 passer with 45 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. He’s run for an additional 2,509 yards and 19 scores. His best season came in 2022 when, in 15 games for a bad Bears team, he threw for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, then compiled an additional 1,143 yards and eight scores on the ground.

Those numbers make you think, with a good team, he can be the guy. The film, though, tells a bit of a different story. It’s why both the Bears and Steelers gave up on him. Physically, it’s all there: Accuracy, athleticism, elite-level arm strength. Those physical skills often get him out of the trouble the mental part of the game puts Fields in.

He’s struggled in reading coverages and processing. There’s little sense of pressure or identifying blitzes, which leads to protection breakdowns. He doesn’t “see the field,” one NFL source said.

The good news: You can’t teach physical ability. You can teach the areas in which Fields struggles. Sometimes it just takes time, patience. That’s why there’s a thought: While the Bears and Steelers couldn’t make it work, maybe new Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand can. All it takes is the right explanation to click for some guys. The results could be spectacular if it does, marrying it with his physical gifts.

That’s not an asinine thought. There are examples of it happening before. Including recently. Many said the same things about Sam Darnold, a castoff with the Jets, Panthers and 49ers before landing in Minnesota. He too struggled reading defenses. He too couldn’t anticipate. He threw for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year. That earned him a $100-million contract from the Seahawks.

The Jets fully plan on tailoring their offense to Fields’ strengths. They’ll be run oriented. That should help, too. Maybe Fields is the Jets’ Darnold, ironic because they had Darnold and picked Wilson over Fields. If so, he’ll be a bargain. The Jets will have him under contract for a second year to buy time working towards an extension.

If not, and things don’t come together, the Jets move on after one season and target a quarterback in a much better 2026 draft class.

Fields is a lottery ticket for Mougey, Glenn. Like most lottery tickets, it probably won’t work.

But it will be very special if it does.

So why not take the chance?