The NFL is short for Not For Long. The sooner anyone associated with the league realizes that, the better off they will be. For fifth-year pro Justin Fields, he is about to start games for his third NFL team in as many seasons. The former No. 11 overall pick by the Chicago Bears spent last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before signing a two-year deal to come aboard the New York Jets' aircraft.
When asked about the Jets possibly drafting a quarterback this season, Fields offered an interesting, but polarizing response. He may have confused the term "rhetorical" with "hypothetical", but we catch his drift. Fields may be open to mentoring a young quarterback joining Gang Green's rocking flight, but he may not be as open to it as one would like. Again, he has an NFL career to salvage this season.
Few of us have time to live in hypotheticals, but clearly, that is not something Fields ever wants to do.
"I don't really like to answer rhetorical questions ... I'm willing to teach, but I'm not really interested in rhetorical questions."
Keep in mind that Fields left the Steelers because he wanted a chance to be a team's full-time starter.
Justin Fields is asked about the possibility of the Jets drafting a quarterback this year:
— Jets Videos (@snyjets) April 9, 2025
"I don't really like to answer rhetorical questions...I'm willing to teach, but I'm not really interested in rhetorical questions" pic.twitter.com/EjXnksvqzI
New York has been tied to Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe, Kyle McCord and Tyler Shough in the NFL Draft.
Justin Fields is not interested in hypotheticals, but will he be a mentor with Jets?
Where you land matters. Fields may have been able to leave Georgia for Ohio State on his own accord, but going to the Bears in the first round four years ago only set him up to fail. Had he gone to a team like the Steelers right away, he might still be playing in Pittsburgh. Fields choosing the dysfunctional Jets over re-upping with Pittsburgh is certainly a choice, one he will have to stand by.
As far as if Fields will be a willing mentor, we will see what happens. I am sure the Ohio State connection with McCord could help them find common ground. Dart and Shough share similar paths to him having navigated the transfer portal before. In a way, Milroe's game is not that far off from what made Fields special coming out of Ohio State four years ago. I think the Jets will draft a quarterback.
In the end, Fields has to be self-aware enough to recognize that this year is his last best chance of being a starting quarterback in this league. He has already lost the title of being a franchise quarterback over the last two years. In a sense, he is in survival mode, which leads me to believe he may not be as willing of a mentor, as opposed to a guy who knows his career is fully on the back nine.
Regardless, I like the direction the Jets are moving in a franchise for once, so I will root for him now.