Ohio State legend and former Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields signed with the New York Jets today. Justin Fields reunites with a college teammate (who was one of his favorite targets in the scarlet and Gray), Garrett Wilson. While it’s great to see two Buckeyes set to start for the same team in the NFL, turning around the New York Jets would be a tall order for Patrick Mahomes and Justin Jefferson.
As has become abundantly clearer in recent years, the New York Jets are an awful mess. I have nothing against the Jets, but they have been the common denominator of good players who looked like busts when they were part of Gang Green. Look no further than the quarterback position. Sam Darnold and Geno Smith were thought of as complete busts because of how poorly they did in New York but have reenergized their careers in places like Minnesota and Seattle.
Other NFL stars like Aaron Rodgers and DeVante Adams couldn’t lead the Jets to a winning season, though it remains to be seen if they can play at an elite level again outside of New York. Shoot, Zach Wilson may have found success in the NFL if he hadn’t gotten picked by the Jets. Garrett Wilson has less to lose in this quest to get the Jets flying high again. This will be his fourth year there and receivers have more wiggle room to find success if they’re with a bad franchise than quarterbacks do.
That’s where things get tough for Fields. This is likely his last shot at being a starter before he becomes a backup who will only see the field if an injury takes him to the top of the depth chart. The good news is that Fields has been in this situation before with the Chicago Bears, another franchise that has been at the bottom of the league for a while and needs turning around.
Fields was working hard for Chicago when Kevin Warren got his revenge for Fields and Ohio State’s rebellion against him as Big Ten Commissioner in 2020.
Fields then landed in Pittsburgh and got the Steelers off to a 4-2 start in 2024 before Mike Tomlin bet the season on Russell Wilson and the Steelers would go 6-6 the rest of the year including a playoff loss to Baltimore. With the 2025 NFL Draft being a little light on quarterbacks, Fields is almost certain to be the Jets quarterback this fall unless they trade their seventh overall pick and others up to try and get a Shedeur Sanders or a Cam Ward (or trade down and get another former Buckeye in Will Howard).
This is the good news for Justin Fields. It still is a very tall order to turn the Jets around. However, he’ll likely be in the position to be the starter from the first game to the last in 2025. He’ll have a coach in Aaron Glenn who has coached against Fields for years in the NFC North who knows what he’s capable of and is all-in on him being QB1. Wilson is the best receiver Fields will have had a chance to throw to in the NFL and one he already works well with.
Can Justin Fields and Garrett Wilson turn the New York Jets around? We’ll find out. It is a tall order but they both are in the best situation either of them has been in their young NFL careers for both personal and team success. They’ll have a lot of people in Ohio in their corner as they do.