Justin Fields' Future 'Very Much Up in the Air' After Jets Trade for Geno Smith, Says NFL Insider

Justin Fields is still under contract for the New York Jets, but there is reportedly plenty of uncertainty regarding his future after the AFC East team traded for Geno Smith.

"Fields' status is very much up in the air," ESPN's Rich Cimini reported Sunday.

Cimini noted Fields, Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe are all under contract and presumably behind Smith on the depth chart following the headline trade with the Las Vegas Raiders. However, New York may need a proven backup if it does decide to move on from Fields.

Tyrod Taylor remains a free agent after he started four games for the team last season. The Jets have also been connected to Carson Wentz at times this offseason, but Cimini noted "there's a chance he could return to the Minnesota Vikings as the QB3."

As for Fields, the uncertainty surrounding his spot on the team is just the latest in what has been an up and down career.

The Chicago Bears selected him with the No. 11 overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft with the hope he would become the franchise quarterback they had long been missing. And he flashed plenty of potential, such as when he finished ninth in MVP voting and ran for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns in his second season, but he never lived up to those expectations.

Poor offensive lines, a lack of game-changing weapons and questionable coaching certainly didn't help in Chicago, but Fields was too inconsistent, struggled in the aerial attack and often held onto the ball too long.

He then went 4-2 as a starter in 2024 with the Pittsburgh Steelers before losing his job to Russell Wilson, although the Jets saw enough to bring him in on a two-year deal ahead of the 2025 campaign.

Things did not go as hoped in New York.

While he had seven touchdown passes to just one interception, Fields went 2-7 as a starter with just 139.9 passing yards per game. The team eventually started Taylor down the stretch, and the trade for Smith this offseason seemed to signal the end of Fields' tenure in New York.

But it remains to be seen where he will be in 2026.