The New York Jets have spent a bit of money to lock up their starting quarterback position. The Jets signed former Pittsburgh Steelers starter Justin Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract, with $30 million guaranteed at signing. Fields takes over for the aging Aaron Rodgers, who was not welcomed back by new Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.
Rodgers was terminated by the Jets at the start of the new league year and became an unrestricted free agent. Fields was handed the reins to the offense after starting six games for Pittsburgh last season and another 44 prior to his arrival in the Steel City, for the Chicago Bears. Despite having a 4-2 record with the Steelers and having a 5-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio, Fields was replaced with Russell Wilson who would lead the Steelers to the playoffs. Fields is looking for a new beginning in the Big Apple, a city where many quarterbacks before him have failed. The dual-threat quarterback will team up with former Ohio State teammate, wide receiver, Garrett Wilson to try and improve the sleeping Jets offense.
The Jets might look to draft a backup quarterback in the middle rounds of the draft, which begins Thursday night in Green Bay. If the Jets bring in a quarterback via the draft he should not pose a threat to Fields, who was brought in to New York for the starting role. According to Sam Robinson of Yardbarker, the Jets have the 26th best quarterback room in the league.
But wait … fans don’t need to buy this. The Jets also have a room that contains journeyman backup Tyrod Taylor, Adrian Martinez and former Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, who missed all of last season with a compound fracture in his leg he sustained in 2023 while playing for the Seminoles. All in all, we might argue that Fields’ group deserves a good news break here … but maybe that’s just because it seems everything is more promising than in the Aaron Rodgers era.