The New York Jets took a bold stance at quarterback this offseason, opting to sign former first-round pick Justin Fields to a two-year, $40 million deal.
Fields looked like a star on the rise after his second season with the Chicago Bears, when he nearly broke Lamar Jackson’s single-season rushing record for a quarterback, but his failure to develop as a passer, combined with the Bears landing the first overall pick in the quarterback-heavy 2024 NFL Draft, led to the trade that sent Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Fields was OK in Pittsburgh in 2024, starting six games and earning a 4-2 record. And while the Steelers did attempt to re-sign him this offseason, it was the Jets who won the derby to make the 26-year-old dual-threat QB their potential long-term fix behind center.
Justin Fields ➡ Braelon Allen 🎯#Jets | 🎥 @nyjets pic.twitter.com/kPqXU4FCTc
— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) May 29, 2025
And it’s that decision that was recently ranked as the fifth-best offseason move in the league this year.
“Why the Pittsburgh Steelers stubbornly refused to turn back to Fields last year even when the team faltered late is a mystery right up there with Stonehenge and those Easter Island heads,” Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport wrote. “Fields has his flaws. But he’s also still just 26 years old and one of the NFL’s most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks. Getting even an average NFL starter for $20 million a season is a felony in 11 states.”
Fields will reunite with former Ohio State teammate Garrett Wilson in New York in what should quickly become one of the more entertaining QB-WR duos in the AFC in 2025.
Justin Fields finished the 2024 season throwing for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception while running for an additional 289 yards and five scores.
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