Jets' Justin Fields Hints At Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold-Like Resurgence In 2025

Justin Fields hasn't had the NFL career he hoped for coming out of college, but the New York Jets are hoping he can flip the script.

Fields, who was a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 2021, has never fully established himself as an NFL starter. He came close in 2022 with an 1,100-yard rushing season, but he regressed in 2023 and found himself traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024.

Now that he's signed with the Jets for the next two years and has been given the keys to the starting role for at least the 2025 campaign, Fields is hoping for a resurgence. Fortunately, recent NFL history is littered with examples of highly-drafted quarterbacks finding new life on their third or fourth teams.

Recently, Fields compared his journey to those of Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, top-three picks in the 2018 NFL Draft who have played for a handful of teams each before finding success five or six years into their careers.

"I think everybody's journey is different," Fields said, per Jets team reporter Eric Allen. "Nobody's journey is the same. Those guys, it happened for them like you said on the third or fourth team.

"Of course, I'm definitely hoping for it to happen here in New York, but I mean, like I said, everybody's not the same, everybody's different. I think those guys kind of kept their head down. They didn't let too many things in the outside world shake them. They kept working and they flourished, of course, in Tampa Bay and in Minnesota.""

Mayfield played for the Cleveland Browns, Carolina Panthers, and Los Angeles Rams before settling in as a successful starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the past two years. Meanwhile, Darnold played for the Jets, Panthers, and San Francisco 49ers before he had a breakout season in 2024 with the Minnesota Vikings. He signed with the Seattle Seahawks in March.

Fields has been shown the blueprint, but what other quarterbacks did in different cities doesn't mean he'll have similar success. The Jets have their work cut out for them in 2025, but their new QB is up for the challenge.