The New York Jets could attempt to get creative this offseason.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport told Jets senior team reporter Eric Allen that he expects the team to explore trading away veteran quarterback Justin Fields.
“I mean, I assume they will look into a possible trade. I mean, he has some money due to him, I think it’s $10 [million] guaranteed. He is also a good guy, and so keeping him is not the worst thing in the world. [Maybe] having him compete, be a backup, there are a lot of different options because he is a good person. So I could see all of those on the table,” Rapoport explained.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another opportunity out there for [Fields],” Rapoport added.
The Jets Dropped a Possible Breadcrumb
General manager Darren Mougey’s comments about Fields went under-the-radar on Tuesday, February 24.
“Yeah, Justin is on the roster. Just like every other position, we are going to evaluate the quarterback position through every landscape, whether that is trade, on the street, [or] free agency, to see what we can add to the team. Justin is under contract. Glad he is under contract. We have no trigger date with Justin’s contract. So he is part of the Jets,” Mougey explained.
Several veteran quarterbacks across the league have these trigger dates in their contracts. If that person is still on the roster after the insert date of the new league year, the teams would owe that player additional money, or parts of his future salary would become guaranteed.
In the Jets’ case, they don’t have that to worry about in Fields’ contract.
That is something NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero highlighted on “The Rich Eisen Show.”
“Justin Fields does not have a trigger in his contract, so the Jets can wait on that one as long as they want,” Pelissero explained.
Jets GM Asked if He Would Do Fields a Solid
NFL Insider Connor Hughes of SNY asked Mougey if Fields doesn’t factor into the team’s starting quarterback plans, would they release him so he could have another opportunity in the league this year?
“We are having discussions about the quarterback position every day. I was actually talking to Frank [Reich] this morning. It’s myself, AG [Aaron Glenn], [and] Billy [Bill Musgrave] — just discussing all of the different options and opportunities that we may or may not have, but for the time being, Justin is in all of those conversations. So we will see where that goes as we go through the process,” Mougey answered.
A Win-Win Situation for the Jets
Maybe this is just window dressing. The Jets could make sure that they get the quarterback room they want. Once they do that, they could then release Fields.
Or perhaps they can hold onto Fields, allow the game of musical chairs to play out at the quarterback position.
When the music stops, inevitably, some teams will be left without a dance partner at QB. Perhaps at that moment, the Jets could go to that team and offer them Fields in a potential trade as a consolation prize.
The Jets have nothing to lose by holding onto Fields a while longer to see if a trade could materialize. If it does, sweet, you can pick up an asset for a player you wouldn’t have gotten something for. Or you just have a security blanket, just in case you miss out on your desired quarterback targets.
The cap ramifications are the same for the Jets if they cut Fields in February versus April.
“If the Jets release him before June 1, they’ll only save $1 million and carry a $22 million dead cap penalty — in addition to the $35 million dead cap they’re already carrying for Aaron Rodgers. If they designate Fields a post-June 1 cut, the Jets would save $10 million and spread the dead cap over two years,” Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic wrote.
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