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The New York Jets have a new quarterback. Justin Fields and the team agreed to terms on a two-year deal worth $40 million including $30 million guaranteed, according to a league source.

Fields was the No. 24 ranked player on The Athletic’s top 150 free agent rankings and the third-highest quarterback on the list — the Pittsburgh Steelers tried to sign him before free agency started, but Fields preferred to hit the market. The No. 11 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bears, Fields spent the first three seasons of his career in Chicago. With the team set to select Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Bears traded Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers last March. Now, Fields will replace Aaron Rodgers as the Jets’ starting quarterback.

Fields stepped in for an injured Wilson at the beginning of the season and led the Steelers to a 4-2 record before Wilson returned. Last season, Fields posted career highs in completion percentage (65.8) and quarterback rating (93.3) while throwing for 1,106 passing yards, five touchdowns and one interception. He added 289 rushing yards and five touchdowns. In four seasons, Fields has a record of 14-30 as a starting quarterback and has thrown for 7,780 yards, 45 touchdowns and 31 interceptions on a completion percentage of 61.1. The 26-year-old also has 2,509 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground.

Here’s everything to know about the Jets first big free agent signing for GM Darren Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn.

How he fits

Based on the contract, it’s fairly obvious that Fields will be the Jets’ starting quarterback. It was believed that Tyrod Taylor would get a shot to compete for the starting job, but the Jets wouldn’t have paid Fields that much if they didn’t view him as their starter in 2025. He’s the sort of quarterback the Jets haven’t really had before — a legitimate dual-threat, even if he still could use some development as a passer.

He showed some improvement with the Steelers last year but not enough to stave off Russell Wilson, and Pittsburgh ran an offense designed to minimize risk. Under first-year Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, formerly a part of the Detroit Lions’ staff, expect an offense built around Fields’ skillset with a lot of RPOs, play-action and creativity to get him in space and take advantage of his athleticism — while also attempting to develop him as a passer. Fields also was beloved by both the Bears and Steelers locker rooms and is viewed as a leader by many who have played with him. At 26, he’s also on the same timeline as some of the Jets’ younger stars.

2025 impact

The Jets’ ceiling feels higher with Fields than it would have with the other quarterback options available. The Jets were tied to Carson Wentz, Marcus Mariota and Kirk Cousins as fallback options; additionally, this is viewed as a weak NFL Draft class at the position.

Fields has a high ceiling and his athleticism makes it likely that, week-to-week, there is going to be some excitement. There are also questions about how it’s going to look when he’s at his worst, and whether the Jets have the talent around him to overcome when he does struggle. But the potential is significant and he was the best option available for a Jets team that needed an injection of excitement after the disaster that was the Aaron Rodgers era.

Fields almost certainly won’t put up the passing numbers Rodgers did last season — 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns, 11 interceptions — but those numbers don’t accurately portray how Rodgers played in 2024. The 41-year-old can’t move like he used to and wasn’t willing to take shots down the field most of the time. Neither of those things will be a problem with Fields, and the Jets’ offensive line, returning four of five starters, should be better in 2025.

The player impacted most by Fields’ arrival is obvious: wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who played with Fields at Ohio State. In 2020 with Fields at QB for the Buckeyes, a freshman Wilson had 50 receptions for 729 yards and seven touchdowns. Wilson was openly frustrated over the last three years with the Jets’ various iterations at quarterback, starting with Zach Wilson but also including Rodgers, who clashed with Wilson at times last season. Wilson will be the no-doubt No. 1 target in this offense and should have a big season.

Fields’ presence also bodes well for running back Breece Hall. Fields’ ability to run will force defenses to account for him and should make life a little easier for Hall, whereas Rodgers was never a serious running threat.

Cap update

It’s unclear how the Jets are structuring Fields’ contract, but after re-signing linebacker Jamien Sherwood on Sunday the Jets had $47 million in cap space, and Fields’ deal shouldn’t eat into that too much. They still have enough space to make some more moves in free agency.

Outlook

The Jets won five games with Rodgers making 17 starts in 2024, which would have sounded impossible going into the season. So their floor is certainly finishing around that same record, but Fields — assuming the Jets adequately fill their other roster holes — has the ability to at least keep the Jets competing deeper into the schedule and being part of the playoff conversation later in the season. Though, considering Fields’ struggles at times as a passer, it would be fair to say the floor for the Jets in 2025 is a record as bad or worse than it was last year with Rodgers.

Either way, Fields is a fun player who is worth getting excited about, even if there’s some risk involved.

Required reading

(Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images)