QB Fields believes he 'can be great' with the Jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Despite an uneven commencement to his career, New York Jets backmost Justin Fields believes he's connected the cusp of a breakout season. The mode helium sees it, it's the close team, the close clip and the close scheme.

"I deliberation I tin beryllium great," Fields said Thursday aft the Jets' 5th OTA practice. "That's been the extremity for maine my full life, my full career. I deliberation the sky's the bounds for this team, for this offense, but we bash person a agelong mode to go."

Fields, who signed a two-year, $40 cardinal declaration successful March, is connected his 3rd team, playing for his 4th violative coordinator successful 5 years. His caller play caller is first-year coordinator Tanner Engstrand, astir precocious the Detroit Lions' passing-game coordinator. The Jets' caller strategy volition person a Detroit flavor, truthful Fields is spending a batch of clip - with the coaches and connected his ain - studying Lions tape.

"He's evidently a physically talented player," Engstrand said, speaking to the section media for the archetypal time. "Everybody talks astir the moving -- well, the guy's got an arm, too, and helium does a large occupation with that.

"Mentally, he's phenomenal. He's been perfectly phenomenal truthful acold and we expect much retired of that. There's conscionable a batch of things that you tin bash with that benignant of subordinate that's going to enactment accent connected a defence and marque that antiaircraft coordinator enactment up precocious astatine nighttime arsenic we get going into this thing."

First-year manager Aaron Glenn said the extremity is to marque Fields a implicit quarterback, not conscionable a backmost known for his moving ability. He believes Fields, 26, the Chicago Bears' first-round prime successful 2021, has untapped imaginable arsenic a passer.

Fields' vocation numbers aren't that impressive, but helium has improved implicit his past 12 starts - six past twelvemonth with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the last six games with the Bears successful 2023. In those 12 starts, helium produced an 8-4 record, with 17 passing/rushing touchdowns and lone 7 turnovers. Prior to that, helium was 6-26, with 46 and 35, respectively.

The Jets, who acquired Fields to regenerate Aaron Rodgers, expect his vocation trajectory to continue.

"You conscionable spot immoderate of the things that are starting to make successful his game, and past you look astatine that and you go, 'That's beauteous good. We tin bash immoderate things with that,'" Engstrand said.

Fields has impressed his caller coaches and teammates with his quiescent leadership. His assurance is "unshakable," according to Glenn, who tapped Fields to pb the enactment successful the post-Rodgers era. They've made it wide that Fields, 26, is the undisputed starter.

"Our discourtesy and defence are new, truthful guys are truly tuned successful and locked successful and trying to get everything down," Fields said. "But I deliberation erstwhile we do, I deliberation the sky's the limit. I mean, we person each the guys we need, we person each the talent, truthful it's truly conscionable going to travel down to subject and execution."

Fields volition debut Sept. 7 against the Steelers, the squad that traded for him past year, past benched him successful favour of Russell Wilson aft a 4-2 start. Fields offered nary penetration connected the matchup.

"That's who we play Week 1," helium said. "It wasn't truly a thought to that."

Any other emotion?

"No."