The New York Jets basically bought a lottery ticket at quarterback once they signed Justin Fields to a two-year, $40M take care of $30M assured early within the new league yr in March.
On Thursday, first-year Jets offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand mentioned how Fields has carried out together with his new membership throughout spring exercises.
“He is clearly a bodily gifted participant,” Engstrand mentioned about Fields, ESPN’s Wealthy Cimini of shared. “All people talks in regards to the working — effectively, the man’s obtained an arm, too, and he does an amazing job with that. Mentally, he is phenomenal. He is been completely phenomenal thus far, and we anticipate extra out of that. There’s simply loads of issues that you are able to do with that kind of participant that is going to place stress on a protection and make that defensive coordinator keep up late at night time as we get going into this factor.”
The Chicago Bears made Fields a first-round draft choose within the spring of 2021 however then traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March 2024. Final summer time, the Steelers labored to change Fields’ throwing stance and footwork after he took extra sacks (135) and dedicated extra fumbles (38) than some other quarterback over the earlier three seasons.
Fields later went 4-2 as Pittsburgh’s starter whereas veteran Russell Wilson recovered from a lingering calf harm. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin nonetheless turned to a wholesome Wilson in Week 7, and Fields embraced a contemporary begin with the Jets this offseason.
Fields has a profession file of 14-30 as an NFL starter, and the notion exists that he is extra of a runner than a passer. On Thursday, Engstrand prompt that he believes Fields hasn’t but reached his ceiling by way of enjoying the game’s most essential place.
“It’s simply development,” Engstrand added about Fields, per Antwan Staley of the New York Day by day Information. “Simply going by means of his profession, simply persevering with to stack expertise together with it and finally finally ends up successful 4 video games out of six. You simply see among the issues which might be beginning to develop in his sport, and you then have a look at that and also you go, ‘That’s fairly good, we will do some issues with that.'”
The Jets can escape Fields’ contract as quickly as subsequent offseason and, thus, may begin
backup Tyrod Taylor at any level if the 26-year-old performs poorly this fall. That mentioned, the Jets may have greater than a short lived repair for the quarterback downside that has plagued the franchise for over a decade if Engstrand and Co. can get the most effective out of Fields over the subsequent handful of months.
