With Patrick Mahomes on the mend from a torn ACL suffered late in the 2025 season, there’s certainly a chance he won’t be ready for the start of the regular season.
That’s part of why Kansas City traded for Justin Fields to be the team’s backup QB.
The No. 11 pick of the 2021 draft, Fields has plenty of experience for a backup, having started 53 games for the Bears, Steelers, and Jets over the last five seasons.
But while Fields has been more effective as a runner than a passer in the league, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid noted on Tuesday how the different elements of Fields’ skillset can fit within the offense.
“I like his game,” Reid said at the annual league meeting on Tuesday. “He can do the drop back game, he can do the movement stuff, play-action — whether it’s a naked or a sprint-out game. He has that whole package that he can do. He understands the screen game, understands how to set it up. He obviously — he’s going to be one of the better athletes on the field when he’s out there. He’s fast, big, likes to play the game. So, I mean, all the stuff I like.”
Given Fields’ athleticism, talk seems to follow the quarterback wherever he goes that there could be some sort of package to get him on the field at a different position. Reid effectively said he’s not planning much for that, but the head coach also didn’t close the door on that idea.
“We’ll see how that goes. I’ll talk with him and see where he’s at with that,” Reid said. “But he’s more than a gadget guy, that’s not how I’m looking at it. That’s not why we brought him in. We brought him in to play quarterback if he’s needed to play quarterback.
“And then whatever goes from there — if he gets bored, we’ll have a couple of things for him,” Reid added with a chuckle.
Fields rushed for 1,143 yards with eight touchdowns in 2022, leading the league at 7.1 yards per carry.
Last season for New York, Fields started nine games, compiling a 2-7 record. He completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 1,1259 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception. He took 71 carries for 383 yards with four TDs, which works out to 5.4 yards per attempt.
