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Will Jets Be Stuck In QB Purgatory With Justin Fields?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Adam Schultz | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 10:19 AM ET

The New York Jets' signing of Justin Fields was met with a solid reaction, with the move seen as a win-win for the franchise.

If Fields plays well, great; if he doesn't, the Jets can escape his contract after 2025 relatively unscathed.

But it might not be as straightforward as that.

If Fields is good, how good can the Jets expect to be? Alternatively, if the Jets are bad, will they be bad enough to get a high draft pick?

It is here where Fox Sports' Henry McKenna thinks the Jets might be stuck. … and here where fans have their worries.

Fields is a unique quarterback," McKenna writes. "Sometimes, unusual talents fail to fit with a certain scheme or coaching staff. And so the Fields experiment might not be a huge success story. So you’re probably thinking: Well, the Jets will just draft another QB. They could.

"But given that Fields needs to reclaim his career and the Jets are tired of losing, they will probably finish in the middle of the league, even if Fields isn’t the guy they want him to be. And that’ll probably cloud the picture around getting a top QB in the 2026 draft. So then what? They’ll have to throw around major assets to move up in the draft or sign someone else in free agency … again."

That is quite the predicament.

In truth, if Fields turns out to be a solid starter and the Jets win, let's say seven games, and go 7-10, that would be a solid foundation for Aaron Glenn to build from.

But will that instill enough confidence that Fields is "the" guy? We aren't sure.

Also, if things go south, will they go south badly enough to warrant a top pick, say in the top three? That would likely be a three-win season. Of that, we aren't sure either.

There is a lot to figure out in 2025, and as it turns out, the Fields decision, one that many predicted would nearly answer itself, might not be so easy to answer after all.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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