With another loss at the end of the season for the New York Jets, the team is now officially looking forward to the future after clinching the second pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Coming into the season, eyes were going to be on head coach Aaron Glenn to bring his great defense and winning ways from the Detroit Lions, where he was the team's defensive coordinator, to New York.
However, that was far from the case, as the team started 0-7 and became the first team in NFL history to go an entire season without anyone on the team recording an interception. Still, defense was not the only issue for New York; they also struggled massively on offense, leading to the benching of quarterback Justin Fields.
When the benching first happened to Fields, his future with the team was instantly questioned by many fans and experts, mainly because of his failed experiments with the Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers, but after this weekend, Fields' future as a Jet has become crystal clear.
More: We now know where New York Jets' first-round pick will land in 2026 NFL draft
The Jets and Justin Fields are likely to part ways this offseason
Early Sunday morning, before Week 18, ESPN's Rich Cimini reported that Fields and the Jets will likely part ways after only one season of the two-year, $40 million contract.
With that news, it pretty much means the Jets will be selecting the quarterback they hope will be their franchise guy, with big-time prospects like Indiana's Fernando Mendoza and Oregon's Dante Moore available.
For Fields, it brings more questions than answers, as the fifth-year QB will now search for his fourth team in his upcoming sixth season. In only nine games this season, due to injuries and getting benched, Fields threw for seven touchdowns and 1,259 yards while completing over 60 percent of his passes and throwing only one interception.
In an offseason when the Jets will have much work to do to shape their franchise for the better, they now have one less thing to worry about, as they plan to move on from Fields and go a different route.
More Jets News:
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- Jets give team MVP to special teamer who was cut in Week 4
- Aaron Glenn, Jets facing brutal reality on future of franchise amid 2025 disaster
- The Jets should dump Aaron Glenn, hire former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski
- Jets' struggles have a writer from The Ringer wishing Breece Hall leaves in free agency