The New York Jets entered the offseason with a lot on their plate. They needed to add new faces in the front office and on the coaching staff, which they did in flawless fashion.
After that, the Jets made the mildly shocking decision to cut veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers alongside his top wide receiver, Davante Adams. This decision was made to seemingly save some payroll dollars and turn the page to a new era of Jets football.
Once free agency started, the Jets pounced on Pittsburgh Steelers free agent quarterback Justin Fields. The Steelers weren't willing to commit to Fields as their starter as they benched him in favor of Russell Wilson last season.
For much of this offseason, the Jets had stayed quiet as to what their plans were for the rest of the offseason, but their general manager recently broke his silence.
Jets GM backs Fields, but New York's track record is scary for the young QB
There have been quite a few rumors indicating the Jets could use the NFL Draft to create a quarterback competition for Fields. This could mean trading up to pick No. 1 to select Cam Ward. It could also mean trading up to pick No. 2 to select Shedeur Sanders. There have also been rumors that the Jets could take Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart at pick No. 7 or even in the second round if he falls.
But Jets general manager Darren Mougey recently backed Fields and seemingly shot down the idea of any potential quarterback competition. This is something that Fields never got with the Steelers.
“We believe Justin is the starter,” Mougey said, via video from SNYJets. "We believe we can win with Justin. We’re excited about Justin’s potential.”
While this could be a sign of positivity for the Jets that the general manager trusts Fields enough to make him the franchise quarterback, New York doesn't have a very good track record at developing young quarterbacks. In fact, the Jets struggle so tremendously at developing quarterbacks that this backing of confidence is a bit scary.
Fields is still a raw NFL talent. He has a lot of untapped potential to still crack into and the Jets might not be the best team in terms of getting this talent out of him.
While it's refreshing to hear the confidence in the same quarterback that the Steelers benched, it's concerning that the Jets are the ones trying to develop him and it's concerning they have no backup plan if he flops.