Jets $40 million cut candidate could land with Vikings, 49ers or Dolphins in free agency

Justin Fields' days with the New York Jets are numbered.

Fields was signed to a two-year, $40 million deal in 2025 to serve as New York's starter, but that experiment failed spectacularly and he was ultimately benched.

Because of how poorly things went for Fields in New York last season, The Athletic's Zach Rosenblatt pegs Fields as a cut candidate this offseason.

"Unless someone wants to trade for him (unlikely), the Jets will have one of two options for cutting him: do it outright, incur a $22 million dead cap hit and only $1 million in savings, or designate him a post-June 1 cut, spread that dead cap hit out over two years and save $10 million — savings which wouldn’t come onto the books until after June 1," he said. "Since the Jets don’t need the space, the first option feels likely."

We would agree that the Jets will look to trade Fields first, but the more likely outcome is a release.

A $22 million dead-cap charge isn't ideal, but if there's a year in which the Jets could easily absorb it, it's this one, as Gang Green sports a ton of cap space.

If Fields hits the open market, we could see him landing with the Minnesota Vikings, San Francisco 49ers or Miami Dolphins, as all three teams need a quarterback.

The Vikings have J.J. McCarthy, but the team needs a veteran insurance policy behind the young signal-caller.

Fields isn't guaranteed to answer the bell if called upon given his poor showing in the NFL thus far, but he would at least offer some competition and perhaps Kevin O'Connell can work his magic on the former first-round pick to help revive Fields' career just like he did with Sam Darnold.

The Niners have one of the better starter-backup situations in the NFL with Brock Purdy and Mac Jones, but Jones is a logical trade candidate after he revived his career with the Niners last season.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan has said the Niners are intent on keeping Jones, and rumors suggest that's not just posturing on Shanahan's part. However, if a team comes calling with a big offer, the 49ers would be silly not to consider it.

And, if Jones gets shipped off, the Niners will have a need for a veteran backup and we could see Fields being Shanahan's next reclamation project.

The Dolphins look like they'll need a new starter in 2026, with the expectation that the team will trade or cut Tua Tagovailoa. Backup Zach Wilson is also a pending free agent and those two departures would leave Miami with just Quinn Ewers.

At the very least, the Dolphins need to add some veteran competition to the room. Fields would be a decent one-year option for Miami until it figures things out for the long haul.

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