2 weeks Ago
PALM BEACH, Fla. — It was raining when Darren Mougey took his place under a canopy at The Breakers hotel, and the sun came out once he started talking about the New York Jets’ new quarterback. Starting quarterback.
A new day. The Jets had a mostly quiet offseason, other than the one big move they made at quarterback — or two moves, technically. Aaron Rodgers is out, Justin Fields is in.
Advertisement And there won’t be any faux “quarterback competition” between Fields and Tyrod Taylor, strung along through the offseason and training camp before Fields, who just signed a two-year, $20 million contract, is ultimately named the starter. *gasp* There will be no drama. Fields will be their next quarterback, and Mougey — in his first comments since the start of free agency — made it clear that the Jets are banking on Fields tapping into his untapped potential and becoming the quarterback to lead this franchise out of its doldrums.
“We believe Justin is the starter, we believe in Justin, we believe we can win with Justin,” Mougey said. The Jets evaluated the entire quarterback class in free agency and the NFL Draft, Mougey said, and Fields rose to the top as someone they wanted to target — viewing him as a young player with room to grow. “Justin is a young, talented quarterback with a unique athletic skill set that adds another dimension to the game that’s hard to defend,” Mougey said.
“Then diving into the person, knowing him, his leadership, he was just a good fit.” There are, of course, questions about Fields’ ability as a passer, and his ability to consistently complete passes which he hasn’t really done in the NFL. But the Jets saw signs in the six games Fields started for the Steelers last year when Pittsburgh went 4-2 and he completed 65 percent of his passes while throwing five touchdowns and one interception.
The reality is the Steelers built an offense around minimizing risk — he only averaged 184 passing yards per game — and Pittsburgh ultimately benched him for Russell Wilson. But Mougey, head coach Aaron Glenn and the Jets saw enough to believe he can take the next step in New York. The Jets believe he can be the next reclamation project, like Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold before him.
“We think we can have the same type of result here,” Mougey said. So Fields is locked in as the starter, Mougey made that much clear — and Glenn will get his chance to talk about Fields on Monday morning. Advertisement Mougey covered other ground too — topics ranging from other free-agent signings to the offensive line and a potential extension for wide receiver Garrett Wilson.
Here are some takeaways from his availability: AVT and the offensive line It took former general manager Joe Douglas all six of his years on the job to finally put the offensive line in its best position — he was just fired before he was able to see it through. This is the best shape this group has been in a while, at least on paper, with four of five starters — all under 30, all promising talents — returning in 2025: left tackle Olu Fashanu, left guard John Simpson, center Joe Tippmann and right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker. There is an obvious hole at right tackle — and Mougey’s comments Sunday indicate that the Jets might not have their starter on the roster yet.
They signed 27-year-old Chukwuma Okorafor — who started 55 games for the Steelers from 2020-23 — in free agency and bring back Max Mitchell and Carter Warren, but all are better served as backups than full-time starters. The Jets have been tied frequently to Missouri tackle Armand Membou as a potential option with their first-round pick, seventh overall. “We’re not done adding,” Mougey said.
One thing that won’t be happening, contrary to some speculation: Vera-Tucker will not be moving to right tackle, a position he played in spurts in 2022-23, both seasons that ended in injuries. “He’s a guard,” Mougey said plainly. Interestingly, Mougey made it seem like Tippmann isn’t completely locked in as the starting center, saying free-agent signee Josh Myers (56 career starts) will push him for playing time.
Allen Lazard, sticking around One of the biggest surprises of the offseason has been Allen Lazard’s presence on the roster. He was an expected salary-cap cut — though he could still be released at some point. Mougey indicated the Jets’ goal is to keep Lazard — a disappointment after signing a four-year, $44 million deal in 2023 to play with Rodgers — though perhaps not at his current contract.
Lazard is carrying a $13.1 million cap hit and cutting him before June 1 would save $6.6 million — and waiting until after June 1 would save $11 million.
Advertisement “In regards to Allen Lazard, we’re working through that right now. We feel good about where that’s going,” Mougey said. “We hope to have Allen on the team.
” No rush on extensions The Jets have sat back and watched as cornerbacks and wide receivers have been resetting the market with new contracts but they are in no rush, not yet, to do the same for Garrett Wilson or Sauce Gardner — nor any other players that might desire a new deal, like linebacker Quincy Williams. “In regards to extensions in general, there’s been a lot of talk about that,” Mougey said. “We have several players whether it’s early extensions or players we can extend in the last year, those are good problems to have but right now my focus is on the draft.
Once we get through the draft, we’ll talk about potential extensions for whoever that may be.” Both Gardner and Wilson could ask for a contract in the range of $30 million per year based on the market, though the Jets don’t necessarily have to sign them right away since they hold their rights in 2026 (fifth-year option) and can use the franchise tag beyond that. Extra points • It sounds like the Jets might explore adding a tight end in the draft.
Tyler Conklin signed with the Chargers as a free agent and the Jets’ only current options to replace him are Jeremy Ruckert and free-agent signee Stone Smartt. “It’s a good TE class in the draft, there’s some depth there,” Mougey said. • The Jets believe in Glenn’s ability to unlock free-agent signee Brandon Stephens’ potential at corner.
He’s coming off a down year but the Jets still gave him a big contract (three years, $36 million): “I can’t speak to the situation of what happened in Baltimore but we do know his physical traits fit what we’re looking for in a corner. He’s big, he’s got size, he’s got length, he can play press/man coverage, he can run and cover with speed, we thought he was a good fit for us. Coach AG and our staff we feel like we can get the most out of him and help him improve his play.
” (Photo: Scott Taetsch / Getty Images).
