At first look, New York is just transferring on from one more quarterback who failed to develop into the Jets’ reply on the place. Fields’ Jets tenure began on an explosively constructive notice — with the brand new arrival finishing 16 of twenty-two passes for 218 yards and a landing whereas speeding for two extra scores in a wild 34-32 loss to the Steelers in Week 1 — however he struggled mightily after the season opener, regressing considerably earlier than first-year coach Aaron Glenn benched him for veteran Tyrod Taylor. By the season’s finish, Fields was on injured reserve due to a knee subject whereas Brady Cook was dealing with beginning snaps for New York, and it was affordable to count on the Jets to transfer on from the quarterback they’d handed a two-year, $40 million deal in March of 2025.
This deal might find yourself proving mutually helpful, nonetheless. New York took a low-level danger by buying Smith, a veteran the Jets hope will stabilize a place that is been something however dependable over the previous few seasons, then managed to discover a companion to facilitate their break up with Fields properly earlier than April, taking over most of his assured wage so as to full the deal. Kansas City, in the meantime, receives an skilled backup whose archetype and bodily instruments match properly inside Andy Reid’s offense, a scheme constructed round and dependent upon Patrick Mahomes.
With Mahomes dealing with an unsure timeline for return following a significant knee injury he suffered on Dec. 15, the Chiefs wanted a authentic second possibility underneath heart. Fields’ historical past is stuffed with struggles (16-37 report as a starter), but when any house introduced the very best alternative for the previous first-round pick to get his profession again on observe — even when that solely means a most of some begins — it was Kansas City.
In a dreadful closing month of the 2025 common season, the Chiefs have been compelled to acknowledge they didn’t have a dependable backup behind Mahomes. Gardner Minshew suffered an harm only a handful of snaps into his first begin instead of Mahomes (and ultimately left for Arizona in March), whereas Chris Oladokun‘s nightmarish Week 18 exhibiting in a loss the lowly Raiders primarily assured he would not stroll into the backup job in 2026.
Fields presents the Chiefs another that arrives with little danger and room for sudden upside. We’ll see if Reid proves to be the whisperer the previous Buckeye wanted to lastly discover some consistency in his play.
