PALM BEACH, Fla. -- There's no competition. Justin Fields is the Jets' starting quarterback. Darren Mougey made that clear at the 2025 NFL Owners Meetings.

They like Tyrod Taylor. They believe he'll be on Fields' heels. But, to begin 2025, this is Fields' team.

Good. It's the right call.

It's unclear if Fields will work out. He might not hold the job throughout the season. But he deserves this chance.

More importantly: The Jets can now proceed knowing exactly what their offense should look like.

"We believe we can win with Justin Fields," Mougey said.

No one would fault the Jets if they entered camp with an open competition. Yes, Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract as a free agent, but $20 million per year is chump change in today's quarterbacking landscape.

The 35-year-old Taylor is among the most respected players within the Jets locker room (or any locker room that he's in). He received captaincy votes as Aaron Rodgers' backup a year ago. There are some around the NFL, familiar with both players, who believe that Taylor is the better of the two.

But that doesn't matter. With Fields, you have a lottery ticket. There's a chance that his career takes a similar route as Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold or Geno Smith -- someone who failed his first few stops before finally finding success.

The Jets are giving Fields a chance with that -- a vote of confidence that they feel he's the guy.

More importantly, they can now construct an offense entirely around his strengths.

"We're excited about Justin's potential," Mougey said.

Popular in the Community