In case Patrick Mahomes isn’t ready to play Week 1, the Chiefs turned to the Jets – of all places – for quarterback help.
The Jets agreed Monday to eat some of Justin Fields’ contract in facilitate trading their displaced starter to the Chiefs for a sixth-round pick in 2027, The Post confirmed.
The trade is the result of other recent quarterback dominos: The Jets are reuniting with Geno Smith as their starter via a trade with the Raiders, and the Chiefs lost backup Gardner Minshew to the Cardinals in free agency.
The Jets were hesitant to release Fields and take on a $22 million dead salary-cap charge with nothing in return.
Their patience into the second week of free agency paid off by finding a taker for Fields, though the Jets will pay off $7 million of the $10 million guaranteed salary that he is due at the end of his two-year contract, per reports.
So, the trade saves $3 million for the Jets, which essentially can be redirected into what they are paying to Smith after the Raiders ate the bulk of his guaranteed money.
The Jets traded Justin Fields to the Chiefs. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Mahomes suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 14, 2025 and is targeting a Week 1 return that is in line with the quick end of the recovery timetable.
If he needs a little extra time, the Chiefs now have an experienced alternative in Fields’ 53 career starts.
Patrick Mahomes tore his ACL on Dec. 14, 2025. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Fields, 27, flopped in his only year as the Jets starter, after seemingly rejuvenating his career by going from Bears’ draft bust to Steelers’ game-manager (4-2 as a starter) in 2024.
Handpicked by Jets head coach Aaron Glenn to replace Aaron Rodgers, Fields went 2-7 with the Jets and was benched in November after four games in which he threw for less than 55 yards. Fields, who signed a two-year, $40 million deal in prior offseason, wasn’t the dynamic runner that he once was for the Bears, either.
Jets general manager Darren Mougey has become one of the NFL’s most active dealers in his 14 months on the job. In addition to nine draft picks in 2026, including four in the top 44, the Jets now also have at least nine picks in 2027 (including three first-rounders).