FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Garrett Wilson‘s earliest memory of Justin Fields is from early 2019, when they arrived at the same time on the Ohio State campus. The wide receiver and the quarterback connected on the first day.
They were in the same dorm, and Fields needed a lift to dinner. Wilson’s parents pulled up in a rented Chevy Tahoe. They invited Fields to ride with them, and the friendship was born.
Wilson was a precocious freshman who had graduated early from high school so he could participate in spring ball. Fields was a big-time transfer from Georgia, poised to succeed Dwayne Haskins as the Buckeyes’ quarterback.
Wilson’s father, Ken, was so impressed with Fields’ size (6-foot-3, 228 pounds) that he took him for a linebacker or defensive end.
“Dad,” Garrett corrected, “that’s our quarterback.”
Garrett recalled the conversation in the SUV, noting how his father — a gregarious personality — “tried to peel back the layers” of their soft-spoken guest. Soon, Fields was engaged in the back-and-forth, laughing. He made a lasting impression on Ken Wilson, who was struck by the young man’s composure.
The next day at practice, Fields and Wilson hooked up on a sparkling pass play. A trust was formed. From that point on, “We were snapping,” Wilson said. Fields pushed for the freshman to be part of the talent-laden receiver rotation, something Wilson never will forget.
“I’m thankful for the relationship we had in college,” Wilson said. “I’m certain that’s why I’m at where I’m at now.”
They’re together again, this time with the New York Jets. The circumstances are different from college, but the old teammates still need each other.
Six years after that initial meeting in Columbus, Ohio, they both need a lift. Fields is trying to save his career; Wilson is trying to create a legacy.
SO MUCH OF the Jets’ season hinges on Fields, who, in a span of 17 months, has gone from fallen savior (Chicago Bears) to benchwarmer (Pittsburgh Steelers) to lottery ticket in New York. His emotions have been through a blender.
He’s on his fifth head coach and his fourth offensive system in five years, trying desperately to avoid quarterback purgatory, that miserable place populated by failed first-round picks.
The Jets are all-in on Fields, betting that their $30 million contract guarantee (of his two-year, $40 million deal) will lead to something bigger, but it’s hard to flip a narrative. He’s already catching heat from New York fans and media for a spotty preseason.
That he’s reunited with Wilson can only help, and a big part of his potential success in the passing game this season lies with Wilson — who has eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in his first three years, becoming the first Jets player to do that since George Sauer (1966-1968), and is coming off highs in yards (1,104), receptions (101) and touchdowns (7).
“For me, I know exactly what he can do, and I still think the world’s going to see it,” Wilson said. “That’s the beautiful thing about this. We’ve all got something to prove on this team. We haven’t done nothing yet.”
Fields knows the stakes; this is a pivotal season for him. If he fails, the Jets can cut him loose after a year and look to the 2026 draft for their next quarterback. He’d be back on the QB merry-go-round, not a place for those seeking stability.
But Fields is tuning out the outside noise, stating he doesn’t pay attention to it. He made a profound spiritual commitment six months ago that he feels will provide insulation from criticism.
“I’m low-key addicted to getting into my Bible each and every day, just because I learn something new every day and I’m able to apply it in my everyday life,” Fields said. “I was sleeping on reading the bible earlier in my life, and I wish I would have started earlier.”
Asked if it will help him be more successful, Fields said, “I know it will.”
He said he learned from hard experiences, too. The Bears, who drafted him 11th overall in 2021, gave up on him after three years. He was traded to the Steelers to compete with Russell Wilson. Fields started the season 4-2 when Wilson was injured but got a permanent seat on the bench as soon as Wilson was healthy.
Hello, free agency.
In swooped the Jets, who were looking to tone it down after two years of the Aaron Rodgers circus. First-year coach Aaron Glenn loves Fields’ quiet confidence and his team-first approach. In some ways, he’s still that 19-year-old kid in the back of Ken Wilson’s Chevy Tahoe: He’s reserved by nature, but he can let loose on occasion, especially when his competitive fire is stoked.
“I think there’s definitely a chip on his shoulder,” said Jets center Josh Myers, who was also his teammate at Ohio State. “Every time we’ve had a day that wasn’t to our standard, he called out the whole offense, including himself. When we have those days, he lets everyone know about it.”
The NFL hasn’t been smooth for Fields, who owns a 14-30 record as a starter and Total QBR (47.1) that ranks 29th out of 34 qualified passers since 2021.
“He can be an accurate passer when his feet are set and his weight is balanced,” said a scout who has studied him closely. “When he doesn’t have that, he’s all over the place.”
Former NFL star Brandon Marshall, now an analyst, believes Fields can be an elite player because of his running ability.
“I don’t think you can look at him and say, ‘Put up 4,500 [passing] yards and 40 touchdowns,'” Marshall said. “I don’t think it’s that. But this dude can take over a game. He’s Cam Newton. He should be Cam Newton 2.0.”
FRUSTRATED BY THREE losing seasons, Wilson could’ve done the disgruntled-star thing and demanded a trade. In 2020, All-Pro safety Jamal Adams got out after three exasperating years in New York. Others before him did the same, seeking to escape the dysfunction of a franchise that has managed only one winning season in the last 14.
Not Wilson. He chose to stay.
“We come [to the NFL] to leave a legacy and mine’s going to be here,” Wilson said. “With that, I want it to be as great as it can be.”
Wilson did have some doubts about his future at the end of last season, according to people familiar with his thinking, but a few things happened to erase those thoughts.
In January, he received a call from newly-hired coach Aaron Glenn, who promised things were going to be different around the Jets. Eventually, he received the ultimate show of faith — a four-year, $130 million contract extension before training camp.
The quarterback change, too, helped reinforce his feelings about the Jets. It’s no secret that Wilson and Rodgers didn’t see eye to eye, starting in training camp with a couple of heated discussions on the field. When they released Rodgers and signed Fields, Wilson was ecstatic.
The memories came rushing back.
“I’m excited to make some new ones,” Wilson said.
Wilson and Fields were teammates for two seasons at Ohio State, where they went 20-2 — both losses coming in the College Football Playoffs. In those two years, including the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, Wilson made 73 receptions for 1,155 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Those numbers may seem modest for a star receiver, but there were a lot of receivers to feed in Columbus. Their teammates included Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jameson Williams, who wound up transferring to Alabama.
Jets tight end Jeremy Ruckert, a member of those Ohio State teams, said he, Wilson and Fields sometimes sit together in the lunch room and reminisce about those days. He said some of their younger Jets teammates are blown away when they hear the marquee names that passed through Columbus.
But Ruckert knew Wilson was going to be different.
“Ever since he got on campus in spring ball, we could tell right away he was one of the best football players we’d ever seen,” Ruckert said. “He was making plays right away. It just felt like he was floating in the air on some of his catches.”
QB @justnfields on being reunited with @OhioStateFB teammate @GarrettWilson_V: pic.twitter.com/GQi6sXZE3T
— New York Jets (@nyjets) April 9, 2025
Wilson’s most famous college catch came against Clemson in the 2019 CFP Semifinal, when he climbed an imaginary ladder to the top rung, came down with a pass from Fields and somehow managed to get his right hand inbounds before the rest of him landed out of bounds. His body control was extraordinary.
An aside: The center who snapped the ball to Fields was Myers and one of the pass blockers on the play was Ruckert. Those four could be in the Jets’ opening-day lineup against the Pittsburgh Steelers next week. More than 500 years after Columbus discovered America, the Jets have discovered Columbus.
That’s where Myers witnessed Fields’ mental toughness, where his quarterback walked into what Myers described as a “pressure-cooker.” Fields was a hot-shot QB from the transfer portal, slammed with immediate expectations.
“I can’t imagine how hard that was,” Myers said.
Fields proved his physical toughness on the field, playing with fractured ribs against Alabama during the 2020 season in the CFP National Championship. So when he injured the second toe on his right foot early in Jets training camp, fueling panic among fans on social media, his old Buckeye teammates just laughed. They knew it would take more than a dislocated toe to bring him down.
When Wilson, Myers and Ruckert look at Fields, they see the quarterback who scored on a 51-yard run on his first play from scrimmage at Ohio State — a harbinger of his two seasons in Columbus. He finished with 78 passing and rushing touchdowns.
ONE OF WILSON’S greatest assets is his natural feel for the game, the ability to ad-lib on his routes to create separation. Offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand called it “extra sauce.” A good thing, right? Well, not all the time.
In a precision passing attack, the slightest deviation can disrupt the rhythm of the entire play. Wilson knows he must “tone down” his creativity at times. But he also believes, “We’re not robots.”
This is where his chemistry with Fields should come into play. If he knows Wilson’s tendencies as well as he claims, they should be able to overcome any wrinkles. They talk constantly on the field. Sometimes they use terminology from their Ohio State playbook, according to teammates — a language conversion, so to speak.
Fields thinks the world of Wilson, saying, “I think he’s already special. I think he’s already a cornerstone.”
His earliest memory of Wilson is from their pick-up basketball games in a small gym near their college dorms. Between basketball and spring football, Wilson was “just ‘Mossing’ and dunking on everybody,” Fields said.
He has Mossed a few NFL cornerbacks, too.
“It’s like he’s in the air for as long as he needs to be,” Ruckert said of Wilson, who has made several highlight-film catches as a pro — none better than his “Jumpman” grab last Halloween night against the Houston Texans.
(after review) HOLY ONE-HAND GARRETT FREAKING WILSON TOUCHDOOOOOWN❕❕❕#HOUvsNYJ on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/htLVwK7TA6
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 1, 2024
Individual success notwithstanding, Wilson sometimes gives off a vibe that he’s unhappy. It can be with his body language on the field or with cryptic comments to the media.
He acknowledged he can do a better job of controlling his emotions, but he insisted it comes from a good place — the desire to win.
There hasn’t been a lot of that around the Jets — 19-32 over Wilson’s three seasons. He still hasn’t experienced the joy of waking up on Christmas morning with a winning record. In fact, no Jets player has had that feeling since 2015.
Bah, humbug.
Wilson, as well as his buddy Fields, wants to change that. He feels a sense of obligation in Year 4, especially after signing that enormous contract.
“It’s coming,” he said of the team turnaround. “It’s coming.”
