Now that the NFL is well underway, trade rumors are beginning to surface as teams negotiate unexpected needs or survey roster concerns. The New York Giants are reportedly ready to shop for quarterbacks in the wake of Jaxson Dart's season-ending knee injury and the Kansas City Chiefs might have the answer.
ESPN reporter Adam Schefter broke the news on Sunday morning that Week 3 will serve as a test for now-starter Jameis Winston in New York as they face the Tennessee Titans. If the Giants go shopping, Schefter mentions Chiefs backup Justin Fields as a possible trade interest to help John Harbaugh's team weather the season at quarterback.
Why would the Giants trade for Justin Fields?
That the Giants would target Fields comes as a modest surprise considering that his last stint in the Big Apple didn't turn out so well. Fields went 2-7 in 9 starts with the New York Jets a year ago, with a miserable 38.7 QBR, although it's not as if he was playing for a contender. After stints in Pittsburgh and Chicago as well, it might be easy to write off Fields as a starting candidate, which conjures very real questions of what the Giants are chasing here.
But remember the Chiefs just dealt for Fields this offseason knowing Patrick Mahomes might not be ready for Week 1, which means the Giants aren't the only team viewing Fields as a fringe starter. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid didn't mince words when discussing his arrival last spring when he said, "We brought him in ‘cause he’s a legitimate quarterback and a starting quarterback in the National Football League, and we’re lucky enough to have him here."
Fields offers an athletic skill set to build around, which is something Giants head coach John Harbaugh knows well after winning with Lamar Jackson in Baltimore for many years. Fields isn't fooling anyone into Lamar comps, but Harbaugh was able to also win with Tyler Huntley, who plays in the same mold. That style of quarterback might suit the Giants as they shift expectations and game plans in the wake of Dart's injury. Fields has nearly 2,900 rushing yards in five NFL seasons.
Would the Chiefs really trade Justin Fields?
No contender likely wants to mess with their quarterback depth chart in-season. There's something to be said for stability in that room, and the Chiefs have prepped for their season with Fields as the backup and have offensive packages based on that aforementioned dual threat ability.
That said, Mahomes was not only healthy enough to start in Week 1, but he looks like he's back to his MVP form. Fields' importance was partially framed as "Mahomes insurance" and if that's no longer the case, at least at the level of concern that it was before the season, then perhaps that changes the game.
The other angle here is the availability of Garrett Nussmeier, a former LSU quarterback whom the Chiefs drafted in the seventh round in April. He's green, and it would be a steep drop in experience in case something happened to Mahomes if Nussmeier were the primary backup. At the same time, Nussmeier looked the part in preseason play.
What are the real chances of a deal for Justin Fields?
Any trade rumor involving Justin Fields should be seen as a longshot. The Chiefs would be entrusting their emergency plan to a seventh-round rookie. They would be going right back on their own trade for Fields earlier this offseason. They would also be unraveling any offensive threads they had planned to use Fields for in their preseason planning. It makes very little sense.
The only way it would make sense is if the trade compensation was healthy enough to force the Chiefs' hand, but it's hard to see any team, no matter how dire their own QB situation looks, wanting to overpay for Justin Fields at this stage of his career. It makes more sense for the Giants to look elsewhere or ride it out with Winston than it does for them to entice the Chiefs to trade Fields.
Other candidates for NYG
Another familiar face is mentioned in conjunction with the Giants: former Chiefs quarterback Gardner Minshew, who played for the team as QB2 just a year ago behind Patrick Mahomes. Minshew took over the starting role after Mahomes was lost for the season with torn knee ligaments only to suffer a leg injury himself one game later. Minshew is now with the Arizona Cardinals behind Jacoby Brissett.
Other quarterbacks that surfaced in the same report include free agent Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers backup Mac Jones, and Minnesota Vikings draft bust J.J. McCarthy.
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