The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to trade for quarterback Justin Fields from the New York Jets, bringing him in as a veteran backup while superstar Patrick Mahomes recovers from an ACL injury.
According to the Associated Press, the Jets will receive a 2027 sixth-round draft pick and will pick up $7m of Fields’ guaranteed $10m salary for the upcoming season. The deal is pending a physical.
Kansas City had been searching for an experienced backup who could step in if two-time league MVP Mahomes is not ready to start the 2026 season after tearing his ACL late last year. Mahomes said in January: “I want to be ready for Week 1. The doctors said I could, but I can’t predict what happens throughout the process. That’s the goal, to play Week One and have no restrictions.”
Fields signed a two-year deal with the Jets last March but was benched in November in favor of Tyrod Taylor as the team finished a disappointing 3-14 in 2025. The 27-year-old did not play again for the Jets and finished the season on injured reserve with a knee injury.
As New York’s starter in 2025, Fields was 2-7, throwing seven touchdowns and one interception. He logged fewer than 55 passing yards in four games, including a season-low 27 yards in a Week Two loss to the Buffalo Bills. With the Jets acquiring Geno Smith from the Las Vegas Raiders last week, Fields’ time in New York increasingly looked limited.
Fields was the No. 11 overall pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2021 NFL Draft. After three seasons in Chicago, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Russell Wilson dealing with a calf injury, Fields opened that season as Pittsburgh’s starter, recording five passing touchdowns and five rushing scores with just one interception while helping the Steelers to a 4-2 start. When Wilson returned to health, Pittsburgh reverted to the veteran and Fields moved to the bench.
He joined the Jets last offseason to replace the released Aaron Rodgers and said he was confident he could be a productive NFL starter, but that did not materialize in New York. After the Jets began the 2025 campaign 0-7, owner Woody Johnson singled out poor quarterback play as a key reason for the team’s struggles. “The defense is pretty good. If we can just complete a pass, it would look good,” Johnson said at the NFL owners’ meetings last October. “We’ve got to complete some passes. You’ve got to convince them that you can do something.”