Justin Fields’ brief and frustrating spell with the New York Jets may have done more damage to his reputation than his actual play warranted. Now, the Kansas City Chiefs are betting there is still enough talent there to make him a worthwhile investment. With Patrick Mahomes working his way back from a torn ACL, Kansas City’s decision to bring in Fields suddenly looks far more significant than a routine backup move.
It also gives Fields a chance to reset his career under one of the league’s most respected offensive minds, Andy Reid. According to Mike Florio, the Jets may be the biggest reason people have forgotten that the former Ohio State star can still help a team win.
Mike Florio Believes the Jets Damaged Justin Fields’ Reputation
Speaking about Fields’ situation on “Pro Football Talk,” Florio argued that the QB’s league-wide perception has become overly negative after his stint in New York. He pointed to Fields’ earlier flashes in Pittsburgh as evidence that the former first-round pick is not nearly as broken as many now assume.
“Justin Fields has played a lot of football,” Florio said. “He’s won a lot of games. This narrative has emerged that he’s just horrible. Well, he played for the Jets last year. So, the Jets will put a stain on you that is impossible to wash off. He was doing well in Pittsburgh, so well that I thought they shouldn’t put Russell Wilson on the field.”
Florio also revisited the stretch in Pittsburgh when Fields filled in and helped steady the offense before being overtaken again once Russell Wilson got healthy. In his view, context matters when evaluating why Kansas City saw value where others saw risk.
“Remember, Wilson got injured in training camp, and Fields took over, and they were winning games, and I thought they should stick with Justin Fields, and they wanted to bring Justin Fields back last year,” Florio added. “The Jets overpaid him.”
“But that Jets experience has caused everyone to just assume Justin Fields sucks,” Florio continued. “He doesn’t, and the Chiefs saw that, and they got a steal here. And it’s a great insurance policy in a year where you’ve got your starting quarterback coming back from a torn ACL, and nobody knows how that’s going to play out.”
Justin Fields’ 2025 season was far from elite, but it was not without encouraging signs. According to the PFSN’s Quarterback Impact Metric, he posted a 69.1 QB Impact Score, earned a D+ grade, and finished 33rd in PFSN’s season rankings after starting all nine of his appearances for the Jets.
Across those outings, he completed 128 of 204 passes (62.7%) for 1,259 yards, seven touchdowns, and just one interception, while also adding 383 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on 71 carries, showing the dual-threat element that still makes him intriguing.
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The Jets fielded one of the league’s worst offenses in 2025, finishing with a 3-14 record and a 58.7 on the PFSN Offensive Impact score, which ranked 29th in the NFL. Their overall profile earned an F grade and a No. 817 historical overall ranking, reflecting just how dysfunctional the unit was.
On the other hand, Kansas City’s offense also failed to fully meet expectations in 2025, finishing 6-11 with a 74.3 on the PFSN Offensive Impact Metric, good for 17th in the league. That production earned the Chiefs a C grade and placed them No. 430 in PFSN’s historical overall rankings.
While still more functional than the Jets, the numbers suggest Kansas City had enough instability to justify finding a more credible insurance option behind Patrick Mahomes.
For Fields, this trade is about more than just being a backup. It is a chance to rebuild value in a stable environment, learn from Reid and Mahomes, and prove that the Jets were the detour, not the definition, of his career.
