Justin Fields Bio
Justin Skyler Fields is an American professional football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Following a stint with the Georgia Bulldogs, he played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes, where he was twice named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and appeared in the 2021 National Championship Game. Fields was selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, becoming a standout player in the league with notable achievements, including setting the single-game rushing record for quarterbacks.
Early Life and Background
Justin Skyler Fields was born on March 5, 1999, in Kennesaw, Georgia. He attended Harrison High School, where he starred as a starting quarterback for two years. In that span, he totaled 4,187 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 2,096 rushing yards, and 28 rushing touchdowns, establishing himself as one of the top dual-threat prospects in the country.
During the summer before his senior year, Fields attended the Elite 11 quarterback competition and was named the event’s Most Valuable Player. A nationally televised senior-season game ended early when he suffered a broken finger that required surgery, but he still earned Mr. Georgia Football honors from the Touchdown Club of Atlanta and first-team all-state recognition. Fields was also a standout baseball player at Harrison High School.
Recruiting analysts rated Fields as a five-star recruit and the highest-rated dual-threat quarterback in the 2018 class, with ESPN listing him as the top overall recruit. In October 2017, he committed to the University of Georgia to play college football after withdrawing a previous commitment to Penn State. His senior year was documented in the second season of the Netflix series QB1: Beyond the Lights.
Path to American Football
Fields arrived at the University of Georgia as a true freshman in 2018, where he served as the backup to starting quarterback Jake Fromm. He made his debut in the season opener against Austin Peay, completing seven of eight passes with a touchdown, and added production as a runner throughout the year, highlighted by two rushing touchdowns against Tennessee.
Following Georgia’s loss to Alabama in the 2018 SEC Championship Game, Fields announced his intent to transfer to Ohio State. With the help of attorney Thomas Mars, he secured an NCAA waiver for immediate eligibility and was cleared to play in 2019. In his first season with the Buckeyes, Fields finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, and led Ohio State to a Big Ten Championship.
As a junior in the shortened 2020 season, Fields was again a Heisman front-runner and spearheaded an online petition that gathered over 320,000 signatures in support of playing during the COVID-19 pandemic. He led Ohio State to an undefeated regular season, a Big Ten title, and a College Football Playoff semifinal victory over Clemson, before falling to Alabama in the national championship game. On January 18, 2021, Fields declared for the NFL draft.
Justin Fields Career
Early Career (2018–2020)
Fields’ college development began at Georgia, where he appeared in 12 games during the 2018 season, finishing with 328 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, 266 rushing yards, and four rushing touchdowns. His freshman production showed enough promise to draw the Ohio State coaching staff’s interest as a transfer target.
At Ohio State, Fields won back-to-back Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awards in 2019 and 2020, along with Big Ten Quarterback of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten honors in both seasons. He was a Second-team All-American in 2019 and the Big Ten Most Valuable Player in 2020. Across his two seasons as the Buckeyes’ starter, he threw for more than 5,300 yards and 63 touchdowns while adding significant production on the ground.
Chicago Bears Breakthrough (2021–2023)
The Chicago Bears selected Fields 11th overall in the 2021 NFL draft, trading up with the New York Giants to acquire the pick. He signed a four-year, $18.8 million fully guaranteed rookie contract and opened the year as the backup to Andy Dalton. After Dalton suffered a knee injury in Week 2, Fields was named the starter and went on to play the remainder of the season, finishing fifth in the league in quarterback rushing yards with 420.
Fields’ 2022 season featured one of the most remarkable single-game rushing performances in league history. In Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins, he set the NFL single-game regular season record for quarterback rushing yards with 178, surpassing Michael Vick’s 20-year-old mark, and earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. He finished the year with 1,143 rushing yards, becoming the third NFL quarterback after Vick and Lamar Jackson to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.
In 2023, Fields posted career highs in completion percentage (61.4%) and passing yards (2,562), along with a career-low nine interceptions. Despite the statistical progress, the Bears finished near the bottom of the league, and with Chicago holding the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Fields’ future as the starter became uncertain.
New York Jets Era (2025–Present)
On March 13, 2025, Fields signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the New York Jets. General manager Darren Mougey announced on March 30 that Fields would be the team’s starting quarterback. The Jets opened the season winless through seven games, prompting criticism from owner Woody Johnson, who pointed to Fields’ quarterback rating.
Following the 0–7 start, the Jets won back-to-back games over the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns with a bye week in between. The team then lost to the New England Patriots, and Fields was benched the following week against the Baltimore Ravens while dealing with a knee injury that effectively ended his season.
Notable Events and Milestones
Fields’ signature NFL moment came in 2022, when he broke Michael Vick’s two-decade-old single-game regular season rushing record for quarterbacks with 178 yards against the Miami Dolphins. He also became the third NFL quarterback ever to record a 1,000-yard rushing season and the first player in league history to throw three touchdown passes while rushing for at least 150 yards in the same game.
Justin Fields Career Wins
Across his NFL career with the Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New York Jets, Fields has compiled regular-season victories as both a starter and a contributor. His most consistent stretch came in the early weeks of the 2024 season with Pittsburgh, where he guided the Steelers to three consecutive wins as the starter.
Chicago Bears Highlights
Fields’ most notable regular-season win with the Bears came in Week 17 of the 2023 season, a 12–10 Monday Night Football victory over the Minnesota Vikings that was sealed by a game-winning field goal with 10 seconds left. He also engineered a Week 5 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, throwing his first career touchdown pass to tight end Jesper Horsted.
Justin Fields Family
Personal Life
Fields is a Christian and was diagnosed with epilepsy during his freshman year of high school, a condition that became public during his 2021 pre-draft interviews with NFL teams. He scored a 29 on his ACT and maintained a 3.9 grade point average in high school, and he is a pescetarian. Fields graduated with a degree in consumer and family financial services from Ohio State in May 2023. His sister Jaiden played college softball for Georgia, and his youngest sister Jessica plays college basketball for Michigan.
2025 Season Performance
Fields began the 2025 campaign as the New York Jets’ starting quarterback following his two-year, $40 million free-agent contract in March. The Jets opened the year with seven consecutive losses, and Fields drew public criticism from owner Woody Johnson for his quarterback rating during the winless stretch.
After the 0–7 start, Fields led the Jets to back-to-back wins over the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, separated by a bye week, marking his first victories with the franchise. The momentum did not last, as New York dropped its next game to the New England Patriots before Fields was benched ahead of a matchup with the Baltimore Ravens due to a knee injury that effectively ended his season.
Looking ahead, Fields’ two-year deal runs through the 2026 season, giving the Jets time to evaluate his recovery and performance in the seasons to come. His dual-threat ability and prior rushing records remain central to his value as a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL.