Palm Beach, Florida – It was raining when the managing director Darren Mougey took his place under a glass roof with Hotel Breakers, and the sun was released once he started talking about the new quarter -Arrière of the New York Jets – leaving the quarter.
A new day.
The jets had a mainly calm off -season, apart from the only big movement they made in the quarter -Arrière – or two movements, technically. Aaron Rodgers came out. Justin Fields is in it.
And there will be no false “quarter competition” between Fields and Tyrod Taylor took place throughout the offseason and the training camp before Fields, which has just signed a $ 40 million contract, is ultimately appointed the starter.
*Hardle!*
There will be no drama. Fields will be the next quarter of the jets, and Mougey – in its first comments since the start of the free agency – clearly indicated that the jets have been banished on fields which exploit its unexploited potential and become a quarter to direct this franchise out of its slumps.
“We believe that Justin is the starter. We believe in Justin; we think we can win with Justin,” said Mougey.
The jets evaluated the quarter’s quarter course and the NFL draft, said Mougey, and the fields reached the summit as a person they wanted to target, considering him a young player with space to grow.
“Justin is a talented young quarter with a set of unique sporting skills that adds another dimension to the difficult game to defend,” said Mougey. “Then, plunging into the person, knowing him, his leadership, he was just a good fit.”
There are, of course, questions about the ability of the fields as a passer and to constantly complete passes, which he did not really do in the NFL. But the jets saw panels in the six games started for the Pittsburgh Steelers last year when they went 4-2 and it finished 65% of its passes while launching five affected and an interception. The reality is that the Steelers have built an offense on risk minimization – it only has an average of 184 yards per game per game – and Pittsburgh finally put it in the bench for Russell Wilson. But Mougey, head coach Aaron Glenn and the jets have seen enough to believe that he can go to the next step in New York.
The jets think that it can be the next rehabilitation project, such as Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold before him.
“We think we can have the same type of result here,” said Mougey.
So Fields is locked as a starter – Mougey showed so clear – and Glenn will have his chance to talk about Fields on Monday morning.
Mougey also covered another land, subjects ranging from other free agent signatures to the offensive line and a potential extension for the Garrett Wilson Large Garrett.
Here are some points to remember from his availability:
AVT and the offensive line
It took former GM Joe Douglas every six years of work to finally put the offensive line in its best position; He was dismissed before he could see him. This is the best form in this group, for some time, at least on paper, with four of the five runners – all less than 30 years old, all promising talents – returning in 2025: the left platform Oli Fashanu, the left guard John Simpson, the Joe Tippmann center and the Alijah Vera -Tucker right guard.
There is an obvious hole in the right tackle, and Mougey’s comments on Sunday indicate that the jets may not yet have their starter on the list. They signed Chukwuma Okrafor, 27, who started 55 games for the Steelers from 2020 to 2023 – in a free agency and brought back Max Mitchell and Carter Warren, but all are better served as backups.
Jets have often been linked to the Missouri Tackle Armand Membou as a potential option with their first -round choice at n ° 7.
“We haven’t finished adding,” said Mougey.
One thing that will not happen, unlike certain speculations: Vera-T-Tucker will not go to the right tackle, a position he played in a module in 2022 and 2023, the two seasons that ended with injuries.
“He’s a goalkeeper,” said Mougey.
Interestingly, Mougey gave the impression that Tippmann is not locked as a departure center, saying that the signatory of the free agent Josh Myers (56 career departures) will push him for playing time.
Allen Lazard captured 37 passes for 530 yards and six touched last season with the jets. (Ed Mulholland / Imagn Images)
Lazard who remains
One of the biggest surprises in the offseason was the presence of Allen Lazard on the list. He was an expected salary cup, although he could always be released at some point. Mougey said that the jets’ objective was to keep Lazard – a disappointment after having signed a $ 44 million contract over four years in 2023 to play with Rodgers – but perhaps not to his current contract. Lazard has a ceiling of $ 13.1 million, and cut it before June 1 would save $ 6.6 million; Waiting after June 1 would save $ 11 million.
“Regarding Allen Lazard, we are working at the moment. We feel good where it is going,” said Mougey. “We hope to have Allen in the team.”
No precipitation on extensions
The jets sat down and looked at the corner half and the wide receivers reset the market with new contracts, but they are not in a hurry to do the same for Garrett Wilson or Gardner sauce, nor any other player who could desire a new case, like the second Quincy Williams.
“Regarding extensions in general, there have been a lot of discussions on this subject,” said Mougey. “We have several players, whether early extensions or players that we can extend last year – these are good problems to have, but at the moment, I focus on the project. Once we have succeeded in the project, we will talk about potential extensions for anyone.”
Gardner and Wilson could request a contract of around 30 million dollars a year on the basis of the market, although the jets do not necessarily have to sign them right away because they hold their rights in 2026 (fifth year option) and can use the franchise label beyond.
Additional points
• It seems that the jets could explore the addition of a tight end in the project. Tyler Conklin signed with Los Angeles loaders as a free agent, and the only jets options to replace it are Jeremy Ruckert and the signatory of the free agent Stone Smartt. “It is a good Te class in the project; there is depth there,” said Mougey.
• Jets believe in Glenn’s ability to unlock the potential of Brandon Stephens free signatory at the corner. He has just left a year down, but the jets have always given him a big contract (three years, $ 36 million): “I cannot talk about the situation of what happened in Baltimore, but we know that his physical features correspond to what we are looking for in a corner. It can run and cover with speed. We think he was good for us. Help him improve his game.
(Photo: Scott Tetsch / Getty Images)
