Aaron Rodgers’ two-year tenure will be a memorable side plot in the long history of the New York Jets. But now, it appears the clubs is fixing to find his replacement.
According to multiple reports that circulated over the weekend, the Jets intend to move on from Rodgers as their starting quarterback for the 2025 season. The most likely scenario is cutting him with a post-Jun. 1 designation, which will allow them to spread out his $49 million dead cap hit over two years.
There will be plenty of time to reflect on what went wrong during Rodgers’ time with the Jets, but the more pressing issue is finding a replacement. And given that this year’s draft class isn’t particularly exciting for quarterbacks, it’s tough to determine the best path for the Jets to take.
Seeing as the Jets have a first-year head coach and are desperate to build a winning culture, it’s unlikely they punt at the position in an effort to tank. But they also need a short-term commitment if they do sign a free agent, leaving flexibility to draft a franchise quarterback in the future.
With those objectives in mind, USA Today’s Cory Woodroof predicted Tuesday that the Jets would sign free agent Justin Fields, a former first-round pick in 2021 who started six games for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024
“As the Jets prepare for the future, they could sign Fields to a one-year deal and make him their 2025 starter,” Woodroof wrote. “If he plays well, wonderful! If not, he can still man the position with enough professionalism and talent to keep New York afloat until the team adds a rookie in 2026.”
Fields, who will be 26 next season, went 4-2 in his starts with the Steelers, passing for 1,106 yards in his 10 total appearances and rushing for 289 more. In his best season, which was 2023 with the Chicago Bears, he finished ninth in Most Valuable Player voting thanks to his impressive 1,173 rushing yards.
With a projected $6.4 million market value (per Spotrac), Fields could be a cheap stopgap solution for the Jets. He’s got more upside than any quarterback New York currently has on the roster, but the team would still have lots of future flexibility if he didn’t pan out.
