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New Jets quarterback Justin Fields is ready to show what he can do.
The Jets are the former first-round pick’s third team, perhaps his last chance to show he can be a starter in the NFL.
Fields sounds like he’s ready to show everyone he can do it.
“Definitely something that I want to prove to myself,” Fields said Wednesday in his first meeting with the media since signing with the Jets. “And I think my expectations for myself are higher than anybody else’s to be honest with you. So something to prove for myself.
“And again I think I’ve been improving each year I’ve been in the league. So I look to do the same this year, to be honest with you. But I think my expectations for myself are higher than you guys is higher than all other people in this building. So I’m excited to get to work and get things going.”
The Jets signed Fields to a two-year, $40 million contract last month and have said Fields will enter the spring as the starting quarterback over Tyrod Taylor.
Fields did not break through with the Bears or Steelers.
Now, he will try with the Jets.
The Jets hope Fields can be the latest first-round pick who takes a few teams before he finds his stride.
Baker Mayfield did it with the Buccaneers and Sam Darnold had a breakout season with the Vikings last year.
Does Fields think he can be next?
“I mean, I think I can for sure,” Fields said. “But I think everybody’s journey is different. Nobody’s journey is the same. … It happened for them, like you said, on the third or fourth team. And of course, I’m definitely hoping for it to happen here in New York. But I mean everybody’s not the same. Everybody’s different. So I think those guys kind of kept their head down. They didn’t let too many things in the outside world shake them. They kept working. And they flourished in Tampa Bay and Minnesota.”
Fields is coming off one season in Pittsburgh where he opened the season as the starter, went 4-2, then was benched for Russell Wilson.
Getting benched was a new experience for Fields, who was a star in high school and college.
“I’m a big believer in everything happens for a reason,” Fields said. “So I was put in a place where I wasn’t really never in a place of my entire life. So I think I tried to have a different perspective on it. Of course, Russ has been in the league for a long time. So I learned a lot of great things from him and got to kind of learn a different perspective of things. … So just seeing how he works every day, seeing his routine and picking up things that I can implement into my routine, into my game.
“So it was, of course, different for me in a space where I wasn’t necessarily comfortable. But at the end of the day, Coach [Mike] Tomlin, he made a decision where he thought was best for the team. And I’m never going to go against that. Of course, I’m not a selfish guy whatsoever. I just tried to change my perspective, get better each and every day in practice.”
Fields said the benching did not play a role in his decision to move on from Pittsburgh.
He picked the Jets in part because he liked Glenn, who he faced while with the Bears when Glenn was the defensive coordinator in Detroit.
Fields is also excited about reuniting with Garrett Wilson, his college teammate at Ohio State.
“When I saw him, it’s really just like the old days,” Fields said. “I don’t think our relationship skipped a beat. … I’m excited for that and things we can do to help you get each other better, just get back on the same page as we were in college.”
