The New York Jets have a lot of questions entering the 2025 NFL season. New York has a new head coach, as well as a new general manager. The squad also features a lot of new faces on both sides of the football.
Jets fans have been forced to suffer through nearly two decades of futility. The team hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2010 campaign, and many Jets fans have grown apathetic. There are plenty of others though who are passionate, angry, and want their team to win.
In order to do that, there is one specific player who needs to have a great season for the green and white. That player is quarterback Justin Fields, who is essentially the new starting quarterback for this team.
Here are some reasons why Fields is under the most pressure for the team, entering the 2025 season.
Justin Fields has a lot to prove after not winning the Steelers starting job
Fields spent last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While he was able to win some games with Pittsburgh, Fields wasn’t able to lock down the starting job for the team. When Russell Wilson was healthy, Fields was relegated to a reserve role.
In the team’s playoff game against Baltimore, Fields did next to nothing. He only posted one pass attempt in the entire game, which was incomplete. Pittsburgh went on to get scorched by Baltimore.
Due to that development, Fields was adamant this past offseason about going to a team where he had a strong chance to be the starter. Well, he got his wish. He now leads a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in more than a decade. If that isn’t pressure, then what is.
There are a few other reasons why Fields faces the most pressure on this team.
The Jets are not a franchise known to have patience
New York is known for going through quarterbacks and coaches like a box of Kleenex tissues. The Jets have had plenty of starting quarterbacks in the last 15 years, since they last went to the playoffs. Some of those starters include: Mark Sanchez, Sam Darnold, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, and most recently Aaron Rodgers.
None of those guys could get New York to a Super Bowl. While Sanchez had some success early in his career, he soon faded. Interestingly, a number of those players had more success away from New York. That includes Geno Smith, who has gone on to do some amazing things with the Seattle Seahawks.
New York is in the largest media market in the country. Fields will be under a spotlight, day in and day out. That will clearly make things even harder for the quarterback, who hasn’t had all that much success in his NFL career.
Still, Fields seems to be embracing the challenge.
“I kind of had a feeling when I got here, guys were looking for a leader to step up on offense, so I was glad to receive that role, and of course been pushing the guys each and every day to be our best and play up to our standard,” Fields said, per the New York Post.
Fields is working under a first-time NFL head coach
The Jets now have Aaron Glenn leading the way, after Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich both coached last season. Glenn is a first-time head coach in the NFL, and his background is in defense.
Glenn played for the Jets years ago, and had success with the franchise. He made Pro Bowls while representing the Jets. He is a fan-favorite to many Jets fans.
That will make things even harder for Fields, if the season goes South early on. Glenn is going to get a bit of a honeymoon period, since he made such a powerful name for himself with New York’s franchise before. Fields is not going to get that kind of grace period.
Time will tell what happens for the Jets in the 2025 season. It is safe to say, though, that all New York fans have their eyes closely fixed on the team’s new quarterback.
-1751414631-q80.webp "Will the Bears attempt to trade for six-time All-Pro defensive end T.J. Watt?")