Jets $40M Blunder Might Be Over Before Training Camp

The New York Jets were aggressive last offseason in Aaron Glenn's first offseason as the team's head coach and with Darren Mougey as general manager.

New York got to work and opted to move on from 10-time Pro Bowler and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. After moving on, the Jets invested a two-year, $40 million deal in 26-year-old dual-threat signal-caller, Justin Fields. At the time, the deal looked like a potential steal.

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With the price of starting quarterbacks on the rise, getting a capable guy with massive upside for an annual value of $20 million per year looked really good on paper. Unfortunately, things didn't work out in 2025, though. Fields struggled and made just nine starts before being benched for Tyrod Taylor.

Will Justin Fields come back in 2026?

Nov 13, 2025; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) throws a pass against the New England Patriots in the fourth quarter at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Jets will need to evaluate the position once again this offseason. Does the team give Fields another shot? Or call the move a failure and look elsewhere? While compiling a list of one cut candidate from each team, The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt mentioned Fields.

"New York Jets," Rosenblatt wrote. "QB Justin Fields. The Jets are going to land somewhere in the range of $70 million to 80 million in cap space without even cutting anyone — and they don’t have a whole lot of options for cap savings anyway outside of defensive tackle Harrison Phillips, who won’t be waived. Fields was a disaster last year, his first of a two-year, $40 million contract — $30 million of it guaranteed.

"Unless someone wants to trade for him (unlikely), the Jets will have one of two options for cutting him: do it outright, incur a $22 million dead cap hit and only $1 million in savings, or designate him a post-June 1 cut, spread that dead cap hit out over two years and save $10 million — savings which wouldn’t come onto the books until after June 1. Since the Jets don’t need the space, the first option feels likely."

It's unfortunate how things worked out in 2025. Fields is young. He's just 26 years old. With all of the quarterback resurgences that have popped up around the league, like Super Bowl champ Sam Darnold, it's a tough decision. Do you give up on Fields or give him another shot? He's young enough to believe there's something there. But Rosenblatt picking Fields as the team's top cut candidate doesn't bode well for another year of the partnership.

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