Jets find new QB, agreeing to $40M deal with Justin Fields
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After cutting ties with Aaron Rodgers, the New York Jets have a new quarterback.
Justin Fields and the Jets have agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal, FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz reported Monday. Fields spent the 2024 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, becoming a free agent after his rookie deal expired.
The Jets were linked to Fields prior to free agency. While new general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn don’t have any direct ties to Fields, he has some familiarity with the Jets’ top wide receiver. Fields and Garrett Wilson were teammates for two seasons at Ohio State, with the receiver catching 11 touchdowns over those two years.
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Fields, who turned 26 earlier in March, has shown some flashes of top-end quarterback play over his first four seasons. He statistically improved as a passer in each of his first three years with the Chicago Bears, throwing for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions with an 86.3 passer rating over 13 games in 2023, adding 657 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
However, the Bears opted to trade Fields to the Steelers for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft last offseason after a previous deal with the Carolina Panthers gave them the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Chicago selected Caleb Williams with the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
After joining the Steelers, Fields lost the preseason quarterback competition to Russell Wilson, but started the first six games of the season as the veteran rehabbed from an injury. Fields led the Steelers to a 4-2 record, but he was benched when Wilson returned from injury. He was mostly used in spot situations as a runner throughout the rest of the season.
Fields finished the season with career highs in completion percentage (65.8) and passer rating (93.3) to go with 1,106 passing yards, five passing touchdowns, one interception, 289 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Fields was ranked 58th in FOX Sports’ top 100 free agents list, placing fourth among all quarterbacks.
The Jets, meanwhile, had an underwhelming 2024 season, going 5-12 with Rodgers. New York opted to clear house, firing head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas in the middle of the season. Rodgers was released by the team in February.
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