KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Justin Fields says he wanted to join the Kansas City Chiefs in part to learn from Patrick Mahomes, even though the star quarterback is rehabbing from a knee injury.
“I wanted to come here because of the [Chiefs’] culture, because of Pat and to learn from him and Coach [Andy] Reid,” Fields said Tuesday. “Just the winning, to be honest.
“We of course knew of each other, but we really didn’t communicate before coming here. I’m excited to learn from [Mahomes]. I’m already kind of picking his brain a little bit and just observing how he goes about things in the meeting rooms, field and stuff like that. I’m excited, of course, to work with Coach Reid and [offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy] and all the guys on offense.”
The Chiefs acquired Fields, a five-year veteran, in a trade last month with the New York Jets. As part of the trade, the Jets are paying $7 million of Fields’ $10 million guaranteed salary for 2026 while Kansas City will pay the remaining $3 million.
Mahomes is recovering from the most significant injury in his nine-year career, as he had surgery in December to repair the torn ACL and LCL in his left knee. Even if Mahomes is the Chiefs’ starter in Week 1, Fields shared that he believes he’ll be able to gain plenty of knowledge from his new teammate in the quarterbacks room.
“I was excited for a new start, the tradition here, the culture here,” Fields said. “Regardless of me starting or being a backup, I’m going to attack [each day] the same way. My goal is to get better, any way I can. My mindset doesn’t change.”
During the Chiefs’ offseason program, which started Monday, Reid said that Fields will work to learn the offense as a quarterback — and not as a “gadget” player to be used occasionally.
“I appreciate Justin and the way he has gone about everything so far,” Reid said Monday. “He’s been great with everything. He’s a legitimate quarterback, a starting quarterback in the NFL, and we’re lucky enough to have him here. If that’s the role that he plays early in the season, we have full confidence that he can do a great job with that.”
Although the Chiefs haven’t gone through a plethora of Reid’s plays just yet, Fields acknowledged that the workouts and meetings have already demonstrated to him why he was comfortable being traded to Kansas City.
“Just having that culture — similar to when I was in Pittsburgh — just that winning mindset,” he said of being in the Chiefs’ training facility. “Even me being here for two days, you can tell why that happens, just the mindset of the coaches and players. The fact that 99% of the guys are here right now just shows you what kind of a team we’re going to be this year.”
