Chiefs land veteran QB Justin Fields in trade with Jets
Toward the end of the 2025 NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs lost superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a season-ending knee injury, which could impact his status to start the 2026 campaign.
On Monday, the Chiefs made a move to bring in some insurance at the quarterback position, as they made a trade with the New York Jets to acquire veteran Justin Fields, according to ESPN.
The Kansas City Chiefs found their newest backup quarterback for Patrick Mahomes on Monday, agreeing to send a 2027 sixth-round pick to the New York Jets to acquire Justin Fields, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Although Mahomes has let it be known that he fully intends to play come Week 1, there’s no guarantee that it’ll happen, so making this move makes a lot of sense, even though Fields hasn’t lived up to expectations during his NFL career thus far.
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Along with bringing in a viable backup, the Chiefs won’t be paying much to bring in Fields, with the Jets paying the majority of his salary next season.
To facilitate the trade, the Jets are paying $7 million of Fields’ $10 million 2026 guaranteed salary, a source told ESPN. Kansas City will pay the remaining $3 million, much like the Jets did when they traded last week for Smith. As part of that trade, the Jets will pay Smith $3.3 million while the Raiders are paying him $16.2 million.
The Chiefs also made a move to upgrade the offense this offseason, signing Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks. It’s safe to say the Chiefs will have a better ground game in 2026, which could make things interesting in Kansas City.
