The Jets placed Justin Fields on injured reserve Tuesday. His knee. His season. His $40 million mistake. Fields went 2-7 as New York’s starter and consistently ranked in the mid-30s on our Daily Quarterback Rankings. That’s not a bridge quarterback. That’s a guy treading water until someone throws him a life vest. But here’s the thing: Fields isn’t done. He’s just done as a starter.
The Mariota Blueprint Is Right There
Marcus Mariota was the second overall pick in 2015. Five years later, he was backing up Derek Carr in Las Vegas. The Titans gave up on him. The Raiders gave him a clipboard. And Mariota kept cashing checks, kept staying ready, kept being the guy teams called when their starter went down.
Fields is staring at the same path. He’s 26. He’ll turn 27 next March. And by the time he hits free agency in 2026, he’ll have roughly 50 career starts across three franchises. None of them worked. Chicago was a disaster from day one, a rookie thrown into a Matt Nagy offense that couldn’t protect him or scheme around his legs. Pittsburgh benched him for Russell Wilson after six starts. The Jets gave him $30 million guaranteed and pulled the plug after nine games.
That’s a lot of reps. A lot of film. A lot of evidence that says Fields isn’t going to magically transform into a franchise quarterback at 28.
But Mariota kept working. Kept finding rosters. The Falcons gave him a shot in 2022, he started six games, and Atlanta moved on. He bounced to Philadelphia as a backup. Then Washington. He’s still in the league at 31 because he’s athletic, he knows the playbook, and when your starter tears an ACL in Week 4, you need someone who won’t completely tank your season.
Fields can be that guy.
The Numbers Tell a Complicated Story
The interceptions are down. One pick in nine starts with the Jets. That’s progress from his Chicago days when he threw 10 in 2022 and another 9 in 2023. The problem is everything else dried up too.
| Stat | 2023 (Bears) | 2024 (Steelers) | 2025 (Jets) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comp % | 61.4% | 65.0% | 62.7% |
| TD Passes | 16 | 5 | 7 |
| INT | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| Rush Yards | 657 | 289 | 383 |
Seven touchdowns in nine games. He threw 16 in 13 starts two years ago. The rushing attempts are down because coaches stopped designing runs for him, and Fields stopped taking off when the pocket collapsed. Good quarterbacks don’t need to run. Patrick Mahomes scrambles when necessary. Josh Allen has cut his rushing attempts nearly in half since 2020. The difference is, they make up for it with their arms.
Fields didn’t. He passed for fewer than 55 yards in four of his nine starts. Four. Aaron Glenn benched him, and nobody in New York argued about it.
The $20 Million Problem
The Jets owe Fields roughly $23 million in cap space for 2026. They’re not paying that for a backup. CBS Sports already reported they’ll “likely” release him by mid-March. So Fields hits the market as a guy who just got cut from his third team in three years.
Who’s paying $20 million for that? Nobody.
The smart play is a Mac Jones deal. Jones signed with San Francisco for two years, $7 million guaranteed. Backup money. Prove-it money. And when Brock Purdy went down with turf toe this season, Jones stepped in and went 5-3. He looked competent. He kept the 49ers in the playoff race. That’s the job.
Fields could do that job. His legs give you something Jones doesn’t. His arm talent flashes when he’s comfortable. And 50 starts of experience means he’s not going to panic when the lights come on.
The 2027 Scenario
Jones’ contract runs through 2026. If Fields signs a cheap deal somewhere next year, learns a system, stays healthy, he could be San Francisco’s backup in 2027. He’d be 28. Same age Baker Mayfield was when Tampa resurrected his career. Same age Daniel Jones was when he led the Colts to an 8-2 start before tearing his Achilles.
That late-bloomer window is real. Sam Darnold was a laughingstock through six seasons. Then Kevin O’Connell got hold of him in Minnesota, and suddenly he’s a Pro Bowler signing a $100 million deal with Seattle. Darnold had 63 touchdowns and 56 interceptions before his breakout. Fields has 52 touchdowns and 29 picks. The raw numbers aren’t that different.
The catch is Darnold found a quarterback whisperer. Fields hasn’t. And the Jets certainly weren’t going to develop him into anything. New York hasn’t developed a quarterback since Joe Namath, and even that’s debatable.
What Comes Next
Fields needs a team that doesn’t need him to start. Somewhere he can sit, learn, and wait for an injury to open a door. San Francisco in 2027 makes sense if he plays this right. Kyle Shanahan’s system has turned journeymen into starters before.
The rest of his career probably looks like Mariota’s. Maybe Case Keenum’s if things go sideways. Bouncing from roster to roster, starting when someone else gets hurt, never quite locking down a job but never fully washing out either. Check the daily QB rankings in three years. Fields will probably be on there somewhere. Just not in the top 15.
The clock hasn’t run out on Justin Fields. It’s just ticking toward a different destination than the one Chicago imagined when they traded up to draft him 11th overall. He’s not a franchise savior. He’s insurance. And in a league where quarterbacks get hurt every single week, that’s still worth something.
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