Justin Fields trade grades: Chiefs improve Patrick Mahomes' backup plan, Jets clean up QB mess

The Jets are turning the page at quarterback again in 2026. The Chiefs now have a better contingency plan should Patrick Mahomes need extra time to be ready to play again from his torn ACL suffered last season.

As expected, with New York trading for Geno Smith last week, Fields is being moved for Kansas City. While Smith will now lead a depth chart ahead of Brady Cook and Bailey Zappe for now this offseason, Fields will replace Gardner Minshew as Mahomes' latest No. 2.

Here's breaking down how each team fared in the swap and what it means for the Jets and Chiefs going forward:

NFL FREE AGENCY 2026: Team-by-team grades | Best players still available

Justin Fields trade details

Chiefs get: 

• QB Justin Fields

Jets get:

• 2027 sixth-round draft pick

Justin Fields trade details

Chiefs grade: A

The Chiefs don't give up much at all to get a backup with good experience to put in the system of Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy. With Minshew signing with the Cardinals in free agency, the team had only Chris Oladokun and former Saint Jake Haener on its depth chart. Fields follows Minshew, Carson Wentz and Chad Henne in the revolving No. 2 door behind Mahomes.

Fields can still develop well at 27 under top coaching. In the meantime, his starting experience with the Bears, Steelers and Jets can provide Kansas City with a better contingency plan should Mahomes need more time to recover from a major knee injury before playing in 2026.

Fields' first three teams tried to get him to produce well as a dynamic dual threat, but he's now in the stage of his career where he can best serve as a Marcus Mariota-like athletic backup. This was a better path to him to revive his NFL career vs. starting for the Browns or another lesser offensive organization.

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Jets grade: B

The Jets save only $3 million in cap space by moving Fields in a trade, but it also keeps them from eating any dead money in the quarterback they signed to significant money (two years, $40 million) in the 2025 offseason. It was clear the Jets wanted to move on from Fields, given the frequent frustration of coach Aaron Glenn, including the fact that Fields' style led to durability issues as a starter.

New York would have been better off not signing Fields in the first place and could have gotten Smith last season, when the Raiders did, as the Seahawks cast him off. But this is a fair recovery to clear Fields from the books, even with little in return to show for it.