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The New York Jets have reportedly agreed to a trade that will send quarterback Justin Fields to the Kansas City Chiefs as a backup for the injured Patrick Mahomes.
The Jets will receive a sixth-round draft pick in 2027 for Fields and pick up $7m of his guaranteed $10m salary for this upcoming season. The deal, first reported by ESPN, is pending a physical.
The 27-year-old signed a two-year, $40m deal – with $30m guaranteed – with New York last March and was the starter for most of the season until he was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor in Week 12. He didn’t play another game for the Jets, ending the season on injured reserve with a knee injury.
Fields went 2-7 as the Jets’ starter with seven touchdowns and only one interception for 1,259 yards. He threw for fewer than 55 yards in four games, including a season-low 27 in a loss to Buffalo in Week 2.
The Chiefs were searching for a veteran backup quarterback capable of filling in if two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, who is rehabbing after tearing knee ligaments late in the season, is not ready for the start of the season.
With the Jets’ trade for Geno Smith last week, it appeared Fields’s time with the team was numbered. New York held on to Fields through the start of free agency and general manager Darren Mougey found a taker in Kansas City.
Fields was the No 11 overall pick by Chicago in the 2021 draft and the Bears moved on after three seasons and traded him to Pittsburgh in 2024. With Russell Wilson dealing with a calf injury, Fields opened the season as the Steelers’ starter and had five touchdown passes and five TD runs with just one interception while leading the Steelers to a 4-2 start. But with Wilson healthy again, Pittsburgh turned back to the veteran and Fields was sent to the bench.
After he was signed by the Jets last offseason to replace the released Aaron Rodgers, Fields insisted he was confident he could be a productive NFL starter. But it didn’t happen in New York.
After the Jets started 0-7 during what would be a 3-14 first season under Aaron Glenn, owner Woody Johnson blamed poor play by Fields as a primary reason for the team’s struggles.
“The defense is pretty good. If we can just complete a pass, it would look good,” Johnson said at the NFL’s fall owners meetings last October. “We’ve got to complete some passes. You’ve got to convince them that you can do something. Otherwise it’s hard to have a game that you can win.”
For his career, Fields is 16-37 as a starter and has thrown for 9,039 yards and 52 touchdowns with 32 interceptions. He has also run for 2,892 yards and 23 scores.
