It turns out paying Justin Fields $20 million for the 2025 season won't deter the New York Jets from potentially drafting a quarterback early in April's draft after all.
In a recent report from ESPN, Jets beat reporter Rich Cimini has heard a growing "buzz" that the team is enamored with Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart and a lingering contract with Fields won't stop them from taking a quarterback.
"The addition of Fields ($30 million guaranteed) won't preclude the Jets from drafting a quarterback," Cimini wrote. "If they have a strong conviction, they won't hesitate to pull the trigger at any point in the draft. There's a lot of Jets buzz surrounding Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart."
The report obviously comes as a bit of a surprise at this point.
New York is paying Fields $20 million in an average annual salary over the next two seasons. While that does not mean Fields is actually counting against the cap for that amount, it's still not the kind of money a team wants to be letting sit the bench in a season with expectations of improvement from last year's five-win debacle.
It's why while the Jets may have interest in Dart, there's no guarantee that anything will come of it. As always, New York should always draft a quarterback if they fell in love with a prospect.
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No one would deny that.
But if New York had fallen in love with a prospect, it would have already happened by now. And Fields probably would not have received the kind of money reserved for starting quarterbacks on a bridge deal.
In the end, though, it's up to the Jets to determine what they want. And it appears a quarterback could very well be on the draft menu earlier than people may anticipate.
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This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 11:17 PM.