Justin Fields Eager to Learn Under Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes

Quarterback Justin Fields said he joined the Kansas City Chiefs to learn from Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.

The former 11th overall pick has bounced around for the past several years and has not really found success anywhere. In Kansas City, he will have the opportunity to learn from one of the league’s top quarterbacks and a head coach who has led his team to three championships. At a news conference on April 21, Fields said he was excited about a fresh start and about joining a winning culture.

“I was excited for a new start,” he said. “The tradition here, the culture here, the guys that are here in the building, the experience, you know, it was all in one. So [I’m] definitely excited to be here and to learn and just to get things going.”

What attracted him to Kansas City was the opportunity to play for head coach Andy Reid and to learn behind veteran QB Patrick Mahomes.

“Coach Reid, he’s been in the NFL a long time, has had a lot of success, [he’s] very smart, and so that was [a] deciding factor for me and an exciting factor for me when I came here,” he said. “And then of course Pat, we of course knew of each other, but we didn’t really communicate before coming here. So I’m excited to learn from him. I’m already kind of picking his brain a little bit, and just observing how he goes about things in the meeting room, on the field, and stuff like that.”

Fields may have signed with the Chiefs to learn from Mahomes, but he will have to learn on his own on the field in the offseason and through training camp. Mahomes tore his ACL in December 2025 and is not expected to be back until early in the regular season. Whatever his role is, and however it changes with Mahomes’s recovery and return, he intends to make the most of every opportunity to get better.

“I think regardless of me starting or being a backup, I’m going to attack the day the same way,” he said. “My goal is to get better each and every day, any way I can. So, I think of course you do have to look at that, but my mindset going into each day doesn’t change.”

Fields was drafted by the Chicago Bears with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. In three seasons with the Bears, he never put together a winning record as a starter or passed for more than 3,000 yards. However, he became just the third quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season in 2022.

The Bears traded Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024; he competed with veteran Russell Wilson for the starting job, and started the first six games of the season when Wilson went down with an injury. He went 4–2 in that span, passing for 1,106 yards, 5 touchdowns with 1 interception, and rushing for 289 yards and 5 TDs.

Fields signed with the New York Jets in the 2025 offseason. He struggled mightily in 9 games as a starter, going just 2–7; passing for 1,259 yards, 7 TDs, and 1 pick; and rushing for 383 yards and 4 scores. He was benched for veteran Tyrod Taylor in Week 12, and eventually was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury.

Fields said one of the biggest draws for him was the opportunity to be part of a winning culture.

“I would say just the winning, to be honest. Finding ways to win, I think, just seeing that, just having that culture, similar to when I was in Pittsburgh, just that winning culture, that winning mindset, even me being here for two days, you can tell why that happens,” he said. “Just the mindset of the coaches, of the players, the fact that 99 percent of the guys are here right now, just shows you what kind of team we’re going to be this year.”