With Patrick Mahomes' long-term injury, the ' quarterback room was bound to look a bit different in 2026. And on Monday, Andy Reid appeared to find his top backup to Mahomes. The Chiefs are finalizing a deal to acquire Justin Fields from the , Fields, 27, is a former first-round pick by the who has shown plenty of promise as a rusher, but has had an up-and-down career in the pa sing department. Now, he's set to join one of the AFC's premier teams with a path to potential starts in 2026 due to Mahomes' injury. Here's everything to know about the deal sending Fields to the Chiefs. MORE: Justin Fields trade details Chiefs get: QB Justin Fields Jets get: 2027 6th-round pick According to Fields is heading to Kansas City, while the Jets are expected to receive a 2027 6th-round pick in return. Additionally, New York is "eating most of Fields' remaining salary to facilitate the deal." New York was expected to move on from Fields this offseason, one way or another if the team did not trade him, then it likely would have released him after appearing in nine games in 2025, totaling a 62.7% completion percentage with 1,259 pa sing yards. Fields signed a two-year deal with the Jets in free agency last spring, but he didn't quite bring the boost to their offense that the team anticipated. Because of that, the value for Fields on the trade market wasn't too steep, just a 6th-round selection. it was Fields' preference to land in Kansas City, but other teams were interested in a trade. New York is able to add a draft pick for a player it likely would have released anyway, while the Chiefs are getting one Kari Lehtonen Jersey of the most athletic quarterbacks in the NFL, someone who could enter the 2026 season as QB1 until Mahomes is healthy. MORE: Chiefs QB depth chart Rank Player 1 Patrick Mahomes 2 Justin Fields 3 Chris Oladokun 4 Jake Haener No. 1: Patrick Mahomes Of course, there is no doubt about the Chiefs' QB1 for the long-term future. Mahomes, as soon as he's healthy, will step back into Reid's offense and look to help get the team back on track and contending for the playoffs. However, Mahomes' torn ACL suffered last December means, at the earliest, he'd be ramping back into action just as the 2026 season is beginning. Chances are, the Chiefs want to be cautious about his return to the field, which is why it made sense for them to acquire a talented backup after Gardner Minshew signed with the . No. 2: Justin Fields Once Mahomes is back, Fields will officially be a backup and potentially even a rushing weapon for Reid's disposal, as he's one of the best runners among NFL quarterbacks. But until Mahomes is healthy, Fields can be viewed as the Chiefs' potential Week 1 starter. At minimum, it will be Fields getting the first-team reps throughout the summer as Mahomes heals. It's unknown when Mahomes will be able to step back onto the field to practice, but in Fields, the Chiefs now have a proven player behind him who can be a solid spot-starter if needed. With 59 games played in his career, including over 9,000 pa sing yards and nearly 3,000 rushing yards, Fields is capable of running the Chiefs' offense until Mahomes is ready. After that, he'll be one of the more talented backups acro s the NFL. No. 3: Chris Oladokun When Minshew signed in Arizona, it left the Chiefs without much experience in their quarterback room beyond Mahomes. The next option would have been Chris Oladokun, who appeared in three games last season as a former seventh-round pick in his second season with the Chiefs. Oladokun posted 235 yards and a touchdown pa s in those games, which were more meaningle s for Kansas City at the end of the season. While the team has indicated it likes Oladokun, it's also now clear that the Chiefs aren't quite ready for him to be Mahomes' direct backup. In 2026, Oladokun is now set to be Fields' backup to begin the year, then the emergency QB3 when Mahomes returns. No. 4: Jake Haener Former quarterback Jake Haener signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs in February. However, as things now stand, he won't have much of a path to the field. Haener made eight appearances for the Saints in 2024, with 226 yards, one touchdown and an interception in one start, but he's otherwise been a backup and on the practice squad. In all likelihood, Haener will be on Kansas City's practice squad in 2026. MORE: When will Patrick Mahomes be ready? Mahomes' injury came in December 2025, and torn ACLs typically require 9-12 months of recovery before an NFL player can eye a return. That means a September return has been viewed as the optimistic timeline for Mahomes, but depending how his recovery goes, he could mi s time through a portion of the 2026 season. Still, the Chiefs also haven't ruled out Mahomes being ready by Week 1 this fall quite yet. It will be a situation to monitor throughout the summer; at the least, the Fields addition gives Kansas City more insurance if Mahomes isn't ready to go by the time the 2026 season begins. Who will start for Chiefs Week 1? If Mahomes is healthy, he will be out there there's no doubt about that. But that isn't very guaranteed. Should Mahomes be sidelined by the time Week 1 comes around, it can now be expected that Fields is taking snaps for the Chiefs; he has plenty of NFL starting experience, has flashed elite offensive skills throughout his career and is capable of lifting the offense in spurts. Cameron Hughes Jersey