Report: Justin Fields, Jets Agree to $40M Contract Amid Aaron Rodgers, Steelers Rumors

Justin Fields is heading to the third team of his NFL career.

The quarterback and New York Jets agreed to a new two-year, $40 million deal with $30 million guaranteed on Monday, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

This comes after ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday the Pittsburgh Steelers could turn to Aaron Rodgers if the Jets added Fields.

To this point, Fields' career has been largely defined by potential that still remains despite an inability to fully live up to it. The Chicago Bears selected him in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft with the hope he would become the franchise quarterback they had long searched for, but he never quite got over the hump as a difference-maker in the aerial attack.

Chicago traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of the 2024 campaign, and he spent the majority of the second half of the season on the bench behind Russell Wilson despite a promising start.

Fields went 4-2 to start the year while Wilson was sidelined and completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns and one interception while adding 289 yards and five scores on the ground.

Some quarterbacks may have grown frustrated with the situation when Pittsburgh removed him from the starting lineup despite that start, but he said this offseason he wanted to return.

"I want to be here," Fields told Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in January. "I'm kind of tired of learning a new offense every year. This will be my third in four years. Of course I'd love to be back, but that's all up to God at the end of the day. I'll be where God wants me to be."

It seemed like the Steelers wanted him back as well considering Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reported as much in January. However, Breer also noted the AFC North team was potentially interested in keeping him in a non-starter role.

Ultimately, he chose to sign with the Jets and will look for more consistency moving forward in his career. His time with the Bears was undercut by coaching changes, poor offensive line play and questionable weapons around him, although there were some highlights.

He finished ninth in the league in MVP voting in his second season in 2022 while throwing for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and running for a head-turning 1,143 yards and eight scores.

That running ability is what makes Fields so dangerous, and he is still just 26 years old with the opportunity to take a step forward as a passer in a new offense.

Whether he can do so will likely determine how effective this move will be for the Jets.

He already has a solid starting point in New York, though, as he was college teammates with star wide receiver Garrett Wilson at Ohio State. That is a type of ready-made chemistry that is often not available in the NFL when a quarterback switches teams and takes over a new offense.

The Jets themselves are also looking for a fresh start after the two previous years with Rodgers saw the future Hall of Famer play one game in 2023 because of injury and struggle with consistency on the way to a 5-12 record in 2024.

Fields brings a completely different approach to the game than Rodgers and will look to fully unlock the New York offense in 2025.