Everyone thinks going to New Jersey will solve their problems. Unfortunately, the glitz and glam of the Garden State isn't for everyone. Justin Fields is headed to the Meadowlands after signing a two-year, $40 million with the New York Jets, likely assuming the starting quarterback position as Aaron Rodgers heads elsewhere.
Fields will reunite with his college teammate Garrett Wilson and will be the first quarterback of the Aaron Glenn era for the Jets.
For Fields' sake, I hope the Steelers to Jets pipeline is a little more sturdy than the list time a star made the transition.
The Jets and Steelers exist in opposite universes
The last star to go from Pittsburgh to New York was Le'Veon Bell, and that decision pretty much sent his career into a downward spiral. Bell averaged 3.3 yards per carry during his time with the Jets, and ended up playing just 17 games before landing in Kansas City.
Of course, there aren't any actual parallels between Fields and Bell, so a lack of success from Bell in New York holds no weight on how Fields will perform. It does, however, at least showcase the disparity in how the two teams are operated.
When players arrive in Pittsburgh, they're expected to meet or exceed expectations. They're expected to do more than they have in their careers to that point. And they often do! Mike Tomlin gets the most out of his players regularly, squeezing every bit of production from the fruits of his roster tree.
In New York, players are expected to... what? Just kind of exist? That's what it's felt like for the past decade or so. Guys head to the Jets and sort of just get forgotten. Justin Fields will try to buck that trend after two solid seasons.
Whether he actually can become the reliable franchise quarterback he's morphed into on occasion in his career remains to be seen. If he can do it in one of the hardest places to succeed as a qaurterback, he'll deserve double props.