Goodbye Aaron Rodgers, hello Justin Fields.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport revealed on social media that the New York Jets have signed former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields to a two-year $40 million deal with $30 million guaranteed.
Fields Becomes the Next QB1 for the Jets
That contract all but guarantees that Fields will be the starting quarterback for the Jets next season.
Fields, 26, entered the league as the No. 11 overall pick in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. The former Ohio State product has thrown for 7,780 passing yards, has a 45 touchdown to 31 interception ratio, and has completed 61.1% of his passes.
In addition to his abilities through the air, Fields has also dominated on the ground.
Fields has accumulated 2,509 rushing yards, 19 touchdowns, and has averaged six yards per clip. During the 2022 season, Fields rushed for a career high 1,143 rushing yards.
“This was the guy the Jets wanted,” Rapoport explained on “Free Agency Frenzy.” “They waited, they worked, they recruited over the course of the last couple of hours, and they get Justin Fields done.”
Jets Take a Shot on Someone With Upside
The quarterback options appeared incredibly bleak at the beginning of the offseason.
Veteran free agency was lacking. The Jets were out of the mix of a top quarterback with the No. 7 overall pick in the first round.
If the Jets missed out on Fields, they were considering players like Carson Wentz and Marcus Mariota. Fine players back in their day but clearly past their prime. Those types of names don’t inspire hope or the chance of winning.
Despite all of that outside noise, the Jets still hit the eject button on Rodgers as an option. That raised a lot of eyebrows among the fans, on social media, and even in the team’s own locker room.
Fields’ story isn’t done yet. He is only 26 years of age and this new regime including head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey believe in Fields. They deserve the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.
If Fields flops with the Jets, torches and pitchforks will be picked up by naysayers and the new regime will have to answer for those. However if he works out, the Jets will be heralded for their unique approach to find their new quarterback.
Fields has been wildly inconsistent at the NFL level. There have been highs and lows alike. However this past season with the Steelers showed a different side of Fields.
The former Ohio State product had 10 total touchdowns to just one interception across his six starts with the team. Fields had individual success and helped Pittsburgh to a 4-2 record through those first six games.
Despite that, the Steelers pulled out the rug from under him and replaced him with Russell Wilson. Fields rode the bench the rest of the year outside of some gadget plays on offense.
Now Fields goes from random gadget player to QB1 in New York. The Jets had a chance to take him in the draft in 2021 and opted for Zach Wilson instead. This provides them with an opportunity to hop back in the time machine and see how things will play out this time around.
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