Heading into the 2025 season, the New York Jets have made a bold choice at quarterback by going all in with Justin Fields. Picked 11th overall in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, Fields has always oozed potential but never quite enough to be a convincing QB1 in the Windy City. Then last year, in Pittsburgh, something clicked.
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Maybe it was the environment that helped Fields put together a solid 4-2 record with the Steelers. Now, Jets HC Aaron Glenn has decided to give Fields a proper shot, with no depth chart drama or backup plan looming.
Fields, who signed a two-year, $40 million deal this offseason, now has a clean slate and a clear path. But while he appears content and confident in taking on his new responsibilities as QB1, not everyone is ready to buy into the calm.
“This is your third team in three years,” Shannon Sharpe said bluntly on the latest edition of Nightcap. “At some point, you gotta accept responsibility.”
As harsh as the NFL legend may sound, it is fair, too. The conversation around Fields has indeed shifted.
He’s no longer just the athletic project or the guy stuck in bad situations. He’s now the starting quarterback for a desperate franchise, one year removed from betting it all on Aaron Rodgers and finishing 5-12. So Sharpe and his co-host Chad Johnson both believe this season, with no obvious obstacles in Fields’ way, is where the excuses run out.
“He’s got weapons. He’s got a real offensive coordinator. They’re running out of hedges. You know, the usual excuses if things don’t go well? They’ve been removed,” Sharpe said.
Fields enters his fifth-year campaign with a rare opportunity in this league: stability. He now has a system that appears to fit him, or at the very least, is tailored for him.
He will be reunited with his college teammate, Garrett Wilson, and will be working under head coach Aaron Glenn and playing behind an upgraded offensive line. But all of that won’t matter, Sharpe says, if Fields doesn’t take full ownership.
“You can’t go to five, [or] ten situations and keep saying, ‘That one wasn’t right for me,’” the Broncos legend argued. “At some point, you gotta look in that mirror.”
Ocho chimed in immediately: “You gotta start with the man in the mirror, huh?”
That said, Sharpe didn’t just come with warnings for Fields. He also offered advice, making it clear that for the quarterback, it’s not about changing who he is, but tapping into what already makes him dynamic.
“Don’t overthink it. Prepare. Know where to go with the ball. And don’t be afraid to use your legs. That’s what makes you a problem,” concluded Sharpe.
Fields has proven he can win games. But now, he needs to prove he can do it consistently.
