Justin Fields can be more than just the Kansas City Chiefs’ new backup QB in 2026 if he’s willing to go the extra mile to win
Justin Fields can be so much more than a backup QB for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2026 if he dares to dream.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a new backup quarterback after agreeing to acquire QB Justin Fields from the New York Jets.
It’s an opportunity for Fields to learn from one of the best QB minds in the NFL, in Andy Reid, and behind one of the best QBs in the league, in Patrick Mahomes. There’s also an opportunity for Fields to be much more than just a backup quarterback if he’s willing to go the extra mile to help the team win.
A big thing to remember about Fields is his speed. He runs a 4.4s 40-yard dash at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds. Since his rookie season in 2021, Fields has generated 91 runs of 10 or more rushing yards, 270 runs where he clocked over 15 miles per hour, and 15 runs where he clocked over 20 miles per hour, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
In addition to continuing his natural growth as a passer, Fields can be an all-around rushing weapon for Kansas City, but only if he allows himself to be deployed that way.
The Chiefs can use Justin Fields in read option, wildcat, and even backfield looks if he dares to dream
The Chiefs would be foolish if they didn’t at least try to convince Fields that it’d be beneficial to deploy him in creative, unique ways. Fields was reportedly resistant to this idea when the Jets wanted to use him off the bench as a wildcat quarterback in 2025. The trick is to convince him that it doesn’t diminish his value as a passer and that it can help the team win.
The truth is that they can deploy him in a variety of different ways on offense. They can run him out for wildcat packages, read-option looks, speed-option looks, and even get him in the backfield just to use his speed as a threat against opponents. I won’t be shocked if Andy Reid borrows from the Saints’ playbook and scripts some Taysom Hill-style wildcat looks for Fields. If teams are running a high percentage of man coverage and receivers are having a hard time beating it, put Fields into the game and let him use his legs to get them back into zone coverage looks.
Justin Fields can be the Chiefs’ designated quarterback sneak player
We all know that the Chiefs scrapped the quarterback sneak from the playbook the moment Patrick Mahomes was hurt running it in Denver, dislocating his kneecap in 2019. You can rest assured that Mahomes’ 2026 knee injury means that we won’t be seeing him run that play at the direction of Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy unless Mahomes decides to go rogue in the huddle.
Kansas City didn’t need the QB sneak in 2025 because Kareem Hunt was automatic in short-yardage situations, but Hunt has yet to rejoin the team. Justin Fields could be a huge weapon and a means to an end for the QB sneak.
You might be saying, “Well, if Justin Fields comes in for Patrick Mahomes, it’ll give away the fact that a QB sneak is coming.”
Sure, but when you have a player as dynamic as Justin Fields, you can whip up creative plays like this:
There’s also potential for the Chiefs to iterate their own version of the Philadelphia Eagles’ “Tush Push” with Fields. Truly, there’s an endless amount of possibilities, even using him in a phase of the game outside of offense…
One NFL special teams mind is already begging Dave Toub to use Justin Fields
Sam Schwartzstein, who was the mind behind the XFL kickoff rules that ultimately made their way to the NFL, took to X (formerly Twitter) to react shortly after the news that the Jets would trade QB Justin Fields to the Chiefs broke. He’s hoping that Dave Toub can convince Fields to become a weapon for his special teams unit as a kick returner.
“Please Dave Toub if you can hear me put Justin Fields in as Kick Returner and run speed option,” Schwartzstein wrote on X.
Now, using Fields regularly as a kick return specialist probably won’t happen. However, breaking out that type of play in a high-leverage moment? That’s something I could absolutely see the team practicing during training camp, then tabling it until the playoffs come around and taking NFL clubs by complete surprise.
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