The Pittsburgh Steelers received criticism for not re-signing quarterback Justin Fields, and instead prioritized 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers behind center this past offseason. Fields signed a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Jets.
That quarterback criticism of the Steelers, though, has fallen silent. Instead, it’s the Jets organization appearing to put Fields on notice.
On Tuesday, Jets owner Woody Johnson tried to instill some confidence to the media that the team will turn things around soon. But while endorsing head coach Aaron Glenn, the Jets owner dissed Fields.
“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got. I mean, he has ability, but something just is not jiving,” said Johnson, via Underdog NFL.
“If you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you’re going to see similar results. You have to play consistently at that position, and that’s what we’re going to try to do for the remainder of the season.”
The Jets have gone 0-6 with Fields as their starter to begin the 2025 season. Overall, New York is 0-7.
Fields hasn’t thrown an interception this fall, but he has just 845 passing yards and four touchdowns in six games.
In Week 6, Fields threw for just 45 yards on 17 attempts. On Sunday, he went 6 of 12 with 46 passing yards before the Jets replaced him with veteran Tyrod Taylor.
Glenn has yet to name a starting quarterback for Week 8.
Justin Fields’ Tenure With Jets Finished?
There’s already been a lot of talk about whether Glenn will remain the Jets head coach beyond his first season.
A lot has happened for the Jets in the first seven weeks of 2025, and there’s 11 weeks to go. Things can change quickly.
But it’s rather unusual for an owner to be so critical of a player in the middle of the season.
Johnson’s comments Tuesday clearly indicate the owner is siding with Glenn over Fields.
If the Jets release their Week 1 starting quarterback for a second straight offseason, New York will accept a $22 million dead cap hit for Fields in 2026. The Jets released Aaron Rodgers last season.
Ironically, the Steelers allowed Fields to leave in free agency and then signed Rodgers. But there’s even more irony.
NFL insider Aditi Kinkhabwala reported in March the Steelers’ offer to Fields didn’t guarantee any money after his first season. If the Jets had offered Fields a similar package, then they wouldn’t be in position to take a sizable cap hit with a move away from Fields next year.
But the Jets offered Fields the more appealing two-year deal to ensure landing the 26-year-old.
Fields is now 14-36 in his career as a starter. The only season he posted a winning record was with the Steelers in 2024.
Steelers’ Week 1 Defense Against Jets Aging Poorly
A lot of weird things happen around the league in Week 1. So, maybe the Steelers can chalk up their defensive performance against Fields to season opener wackiness.
But Fields performed better against the Steelers than any other defense this season. Against a unit that should have been familiar with him because of last season, Fields went 16 of 22 with 218 passing yards and a touchdown.
Fields also had 48 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Steelers sacked him just once.
The Jets quarterback had more passing yards against the Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys than Steelers. However, he largely padded his stats in those contests.
Against the Steelers, Fields averaged 9.9 yards per pass.
This isn’t particularly relevant for Fields or Mike Tomlin’s defense. But it could be a bad sign of things to come for the Steelers, who played poorly on defense again in Week 7.
The Steelers have the pieces for an elite defense. However, the unit has been bad as often as it’s been good in 2025. How well Fields did against the team is a clear indication of the inconsistency.
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