Is the third time the charm for New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields?
We’ve seen plenty of current journeyman quarterbacks bounce around the NFL before finding a suitable destination.
Baker Mayfield didn’t reach the Pro Bowl until he played for his fourth franchise, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ironically, two former Jets castaways have, too, revitalized their NFL lives.
There’s some evidence the same success story can occur with Fields.
“Everybody’s journey is different. Nobody’s journey is the same. Those guys it happened for them on their third our fourth team. Of course, I’m definitely hoping for it to happen here in New York,” Fields said to the media during his first press conference since signing with the Jets. “Those guys kept their head down. They didn’t let too many things in the outside world shake them and they flourished of course.”
Sam Darnold, on his fourth club since leaving New York, resuscitated his career with the Minnesota Vikings and earned a contract worth over $100 million with the Seattle Seahawks. Geno Smith revived his career at his fourth stop, the Seattle Seahawks, and is now reunited with Pete Carroll in Las Vegas.
After a rocky three-year stint in Chicago that included a 10-28 record as a starter and no playoff appearances, Fields showed signs of improvement in his lone season in Pittsburgh last year, albeit in a limited sample size. In 10 games, which included six starts, he produced career-bests in completion percentage (65.8) and passer rating (93.3). He was 4-2 as the Steelers starting quarterback before he was benched in favor of Russell Wilson.
Of course, the Jets have notoriously had bad luck at the quarterback position. The Jets haven’t had a QB earn a Pro Bowl nod since Brett Favre in 2008. New York’s started six different quarterbacks since 2022, in a quarterback merry-go-round that was highlighted by the failed Aaron Rodgers experiment. Poor quarterback productions contributed heavily to the team’s NFL-high 14 seasons without a playoff ...
