Justin Fields landed a $40 million commitment from the New York Jets, but the contract may not bring any guarantees for his role in the future of the franchise.
Fields hit free agency for the first time in his career, reaching the open market after leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 4-2 record while starting the season in place of the injured Russell Wilson. Though Fields saw little playing time the rest of the season, he showed enough to get a new contract from the Jets on the first day of the NFL's legal tampering period.
Fields will now get the chance to compete with veteran Tyrod Taylor to succeed Aaron Rodgers as the starter, but reporter Connor Hughes was not too optimistic about the outlook for Fields.
"There’s no grandiose expectation Justin Fields is the Jets new franchise quarterback. In all likelihood, he’s not," Hughes shared in a post on X. "There’s a reason the Bears traded him. There’s a reason the Steelers benched him. Those reasons are why the Jets are his third team in as many years."
Hughes added that the Jets had a plan to bring in competition for Taylor, whose last extended stretch as a starting quarterback came with the Buffalo Bills in 2017.
"But the Jets needed another quarterback this offseason – someone to pair with Tyrod Taylor. Assess those available, and if you’re going to take a chance, there’s no better than the former first-round pick," Hughes wrote. "He has athleticism. He has arm strength. He has leadership. For $40 million over two years, the very low risk is worth the potentially-high reward."
