The Jets are indeed prying Justin Fields from the Steelers. Pittsburgh’s long-rumored top option had been connected to Gang Green for several days now, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero report a deal is done.
Fields is joining the Jets on a two-year, $40MM contract that comes with $30MM guaranteed at signing. While the Steelers will look for another starter option, their 2024 backup secured a big raise to replace Aaron Rodgers. The latter is now a potential Pittsburgh option.
Linked to ramping up their Fields pursuit at the Combine, the Jets will land the youngest of this free agent crop’s starter-level options. Fields was unable to hold off Russell Wilson for the job last year, as Mike Tomlin overruled some staffers by turning to the veteran who had won the job out of training camp, but his going into an age-26 season created natural interest. Fields has roughly 3 1/2 seasons of starter work, and the Jets will attempt to mold him.
A Friday report pegging the Fields-Pittsburgh fit as a bit shaky, citing Tomlin’s decision to yank him from the starting lineup as a factor. Fields did not impress as a passer in 2024 and has never been among the league’s better options here, but the 2021 first-rounder does bring all-time rushing skills from the QB position. The Jets will need to coax improved play from the Ohio State alum through the air, but Tanner Engstrand’s offense does bring a bit of familiarity — personnel-wise, at least — for its new centerpiece.
Fields will reunite with Buckeyes target Garrett Wilson. The two overlapped as Ohio State regulars in 2019 and 2020, and after Wilson clashed with Rodgers last year, he will have his former college passer targeting him in 2025. The Jets again need a Wilson complement, after a few Rodgers-driven moves ultimately did not translate to wins, but they are checking the QB box off their list. While Fields may not be a set-it-and-forget-it option that keeps the Jets out of the mix for a rookie, they are at least covered for Aaron Glenn’s first season.
Fields matched his 2023 yards-per-attempt figure (6.9) and finished with a 5-1 TD-INT ratio during his six-start run in Pittsburgh. The former 1,000-yard Bears rusher also ran for five scores in 2024. He ranked 23rd in QBR in 2023 with the Bears, who had passed on drafting Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud first overall in 2023. Chicago’s effort to build around Fields ended largely because of the Panthers’ 2023 freefall, which gave the…