The New York Jets officially benched Justin Fields on Monday, ensuring that they will hop back on the quarterback carousel this offseason. The former first-round draft pick's track record gave fans good reason to be skeptical, but Fields' youth and athleticism convinced the perennially desperate organization to invest a two-year, $40 million contract in him during free agency. The Gang Green will soon suffer the consequences of that unsuccessful gamble.
If the Jets decide to cut the 26-year-old before June 1, they will absorb a $22 million salary cap charge, per ESPN's Rich Cimini. The team is still on the hook for Aaron Rodgers, whom it released before adding Fields in March. The future Hall of Famer will count $35 million against New York's cap in 2026. Rebuilds are rarely easy, but they are especially challenging when the franchise in question is paying an exorbitant amount of dead money.
Can the Jets end their long run of ineptitude?
The football gods continue to punish the Jets for their questionable decision-making. The Fields experiment was risky from the start. Although he performed competently on the Pittsburgh Steelers, he still lost the starting job after failing to allay concerns about his passing ability. Speed and spurts of splendor apparently go a long way, however, and the Jets' new regime decided to make a hefty financial commitment to a player they believed had more to offer.
Here's the thing, though: an unpredictable talent like Justin Fields was never going to realize his full potential on a shaky squad. Both general manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn overestimated the strength of this roster. This was not a team that could just plug in a signal-caller, despite what owner Woody Johnson publicly said about New York's reservoir of talent.
There are problems aplenty in the Meadowlands (for both of its inhabitants), and as Chicago Bears fans can attest, Fields is not a QB who can overcome a myriad of obstacles. But none of this absolves the two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. He has struggled immensely in nine starts with the Jets, completing 62.7 percent of his passes for a paltry 1,259 yards and seven touchdowns. The Fields contract is just the latest miscalculation in a long line of follies.
While there is still some optimism surrounding Glenn's culture-change mission, New York is enduring the same issues. The Jets have yet to prove they can learn from their mistakes. They are certainly still paying for them, though.
