00:00Jets continue to make moves this offseason, and they're moving on from a quarterback they signed last offseason.
00:07Justin Fields is heading to the Kansas City Chiefs for a sixth-round pick.
00:11So we're going to talk about what this means for the Jets as they move forward with their offseason.
00:16Joining me to talk about it is Ryan Dunleavy, our great NFL reporter here with the New York Post.
00:21Ryan, busy, busy, busy offseason for the Jets.
00:25They keep it moving.
00:26Justin Fields is out of here.
00:29Some people, not saying you, some people thought he could be the solution for the Jets at quarterback.
00:33He was not.
00:34So I'm going to ask you this.
00:35Yeah, he said it wasn't you either.
00:37What do you make?
00:39How do we look at, I don't even know if I want to call it an era, a tenure, one
00:43season.
00:43How do we judge Justin Fields in his time here in New York?
00:47He was a failure.
00:49Yeah, he got $27 million for nine starts.
00:53Three of those games, or made four of those games he threw for under 55 yards.
00:57Wasn't as dynamic a run thread as he was for the Bears earlier in his career.
01:02No, it was a flop.
01:03And anybody could have seen that coming.
01:05I mean, it was a prayer that he would suddenly, it would click the way it has for, you know,
01:12Sam Darnold, X-Jet, or Gino with their Seahawks, X-Jet.
01:17But, so, yeah, I would say it was a swing and a miss for the Jets and for Justin Fields
01:25here.
01:25So swing and a miss for the Jets and Justin Fields.
01:28I don't know about you, Ryan, were you surprised the Jets were able to actually trade him
01:32and that there was some value for Justin Fields in here in getting a six-round pick?
01:36And how much does it matter for the Jets in their cap situation that they were able to move on
01:40from Fields at this point in offseason?
01:43Yeah, I'm surprised.
01:45Yeah, Darren Mugee's good at this trading thing.
01:47Like, he's made 12 trades in 14 months, I think.
01:51He's good at swapping late-round picks for players that are, you know, looking for a change of scenery
01:58and then swapping his players to get back those late-round picks.
02:02He's good at the moving parts of trades.
02:06We'll see if he can draft, but he's good at stockpiling draft capital.
02:10I know that.
02:11So, I was surprised there was a market for Fields.
02:16The Chiefs lost Gardner Minshew to the Cardinals.
02:19They basically have a different backup quarterback every year.
02:23You know, Minshew, Blaine Gabbert, Carson Wentz.
02:28They basically change somebody every year.
02:30So, surprised, and it's important.
02:33To answer the key part of your question, it's important.
02:35Because they got a draft pick, and more importantly, they got $3 million of salary cap relief.
02:44They're going to pay $7 of the $10 million that he's owed.
02:47So, they got $3 million of salary cap relief, which essentially just redirects to their new starting quarterback,
02:54Geno Smith.
02:55They owe him $3.3 million, basically, that the Raiders aren't paying.
03:00So, they're paying off Justin Fields to go away.
03:03The Raiders are paying off Geno Smith to come here.
03:06And it all washes out as, like, the Jets owe another $300,000 to quarterbacks.
03:12Well, savings are always good, right?
03:14Especially when you're moving off of a sunk cost.
03:16Now, I guess the question for you is, you just brought up Geno Smith, who the Jets traded for last
03:20week.
03:21And now, we're going to be in the second Geno Smith era with the Jets here.
03:26How are you, or not how are you, but where are you right now on the Jets and their quarterback
03:31situation?
03:32Because we know the Jets have been looking for an answer at quarterback sometime.
03:36Do you think they're in a good spot moving on from Justin Fields to Geno Smith to be sort of
03:41that bridge quarterback to whoever that may be as a quarterback of the future?
03:46A good spot? No.
03:48Like, maybe, like, as good as they could have hoped for in the veteran market that's depleted?
03:53Sure.
03:53I would have liked to see the Jets take a swing on a younger guy with more upside, a Mac
04:00Jones, a Tanner McKee, somebody like that in the trade market.
04:04Maybe those guys aren't available.
04:06Maybe they become available later, and the Jets add them with Geno Smith.
04:11And then you have a competition.
04:12Right now, I don't like the quarterback depth chart.
04:15It's Geno Smith coming off another interception-heavy season.
04:20And then you have two guysâthen behind him, you basically have an undrafted rookie last year in Brady Cook, who
04:28looked totally overwhelmed.
04:29And then you have Bailey Zappi, who, you know, has been well-traveled since his flash in the pan under
04:35Bill Belichick.
04:36So not an up-quarterback depth chart.
04:38They still need to add a veteran there, whether it's somebody to compete with Geno or back up Geno.
04:43So I guess theyâyou know, like if you're telling me, I would have rather had Tua, guess he wasn't coming
04:49here.
04:50Kyler Murray was never going to come here, and I don't think they were ever really interested in Kyler Murray.
04:55He doesn't fit Frank Reich's prototype for quarterbacks size-wise.
04:59So I guess once you take those two guys out there, to me they were clearly the best.
05:04Justâthere's really not a difference, I guess, between Geno Smith and Kirk Cousins and Carson Wentz and all those guys
05:11in that same bucket.
05:12Yeah, I would have to agree.
05:13The Jets quarterback room right now doesn't inspire a lot of confidence for Jets fans.
05:18But they've moved on from Justin Fields.
05:20They trade him to Kansas City, and it'll be a new era at quarterback for the Jets.
05:25That is Ryan Dunleavy, an NFL reporter here at the New York Post.
05:29Ryan, appreciate the time.
05:30Thanks for joining me.
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