The New York Jets appear to have their starting quarterback for the 2025 season.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Jets have agreed to terms with former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields on a two-year, $40 million deal with $30 million guaranteed.
Fields joins a quarterback room that includes journeyman backup Tyrod Taylor and second-year man Jordan Travis. Considering the price, it seems likely that Fields will be the Jets’ penciled-in starter, although time will tell.
Fields, 26, is entering his fifth NFL season. In 2024, Fields started six games for the Steelers and led them to a 4-2 record. He set multiple career-best marks, including passer rating (93.3), completion percentage (65.8%), and interception rate (0.6%).
Fields projects as an ideal fit in scheme of Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand. The first-year OC hails from a Lions offense that prioritized play action and middle-of-the-field passing, two areas where Fields has generally performed well.
When using play action since 2022, Fields has a 94.3 passer rating, 7.7 yards per attempt, and a 10-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. On middle-of-the-field pass attempts – i.e. pass attempts that target the middle third of the field, 0-19 yards downfield – Fields is 150-of-191 for 1,638 yards, eight touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Engstrand must work with Fields on the ball security aspect of his MOF passing, but his 8.6 yards per attempt and 81.7% adjusted completion percentage are fantastic, giving him explosive potential in an offense that prioritizes that part of the field.
While Fields progressed in some areas during the 2024 season, there are still a few holes in his game that he must iron out to become a consistent above-average starting quarterback in the NFL. He remains prone to fumbles and sacks, both due to his propensity for holding onto the ball too long.
In 2024, Fields’ average time to throw was 3.08 seconds, ranking third-highest in the NFL – and that was the best mark of his career. He also had six fumbles on 239 combined dropbacks-plus-designed rush attempts, giving him a fumble rate of 2.5% that ranked fourth-worst among 42 qualifiers. Fields was lucky enough to have just one of those fumbles recovered by the defense.
Fields also had some luck in the interception department. While he only threw one interception, giving him a career-low 0.6% interception rate, he was credited with six turnover-worthy throws by PFF, meaning he got away with five of them. It is imperative for Fields to continue aiming for improvement in the ball security department, as his apparent progress in 2024 seemed to actually be a stroke of pure luck rather than real development.
Fields is a highly complex quarterback for Engstrand the Jets to work with going into the 2025 season. His ceiling remains immensely high as a mere 26-year-old with all-world athleticism for the position, but he has many weaknesses to fix, hence his contract being on the lower end for a starting quarterback.
At the worst, though, Fields has the floor of a lower-end starting quarterback, which is the best New York could have hoped to get in this free agent market, anyway. So instead of settling for a veteran with no ceiling, why not take the guy who also has at least some chance of breaking out and becoming something greater? That appears to summarize the Jets’ motivation behind this signing.
