Sports

If the Jets are going to exceed expectations this season, they will need a strong season from quarterback Justin Fields.

Fields was drafted 11th overall by the Bears in 2021 because they thought he could be their long-term answer at quarterback, but could never turn flashes of talent into consistent play and he moved on to the Steelers last season. Fields was 4-2 as a starter to open the year, but the Steelers still opted to go with Russell Wilson the rest of the way and that led to Fields moving on to the Jets as a free agent this offseason.

A third team in three years doesn't do much to inspire hope that it will all fall into place for Fields this fall, but his new teammate Andre Cisco thinks that anyone who shares those doubts is in for an unpleasant surprise. The safety has gone up the ladder at the same time as Fields and he said his first chance to see the quarterback up close has convinced him good things are coming.

“Me and Justin, we were in the same class in high school," Cisco said. "Same class in college, same class coming up to the NFL so these are the people that, whether you play with them or not, you feel like you know them from not too far away. Getting to know him up close as a teammate has been really, really special. I’m really glad that I get this opportunity to get behind him and just support him as he takes on that role. We already know what quarterback means in the NFL. I'm excited for him to prove those who are doubting him wrong and those who are supporting right, because I think he's gonna have a huge year."

Cisco isn't the only Jets player to share his belief that the team is in better shape than most outside observers believe, but years of offseason hope that went nowhere for the Jets means the proof will have to come on the field for the bandwagon to fill up.

Edge rusher Bryce Huff was happy when he was reunited with 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh this offseason and he revealed recently that he spent a lot of time thinking about getting traded away from the Eagles last year.

Huff had 10.5 sacks playing for Saleh with the Jets in 2024 and turned that into a three-year contract with the Eagles, but he never found a groove during his lone season in Philadelphia. Moving from playing with his hand on the ground to standing up on the edge proved to be a bad fit and he wound up being on the inactive list for the team's Super Bowl win over the Chiefs.

Huff told The SFNiners podcast that he knew right off the bat that things were not going to go well in Philly, but knew that "a trade wasn’t going to happen during the season" because he was a high-profile signing. That trade finally came this offseason and Huff feels ready to put things back on a better track.

"There's a plethora of things that went down," Huff said. "I don't wanna get into specifics. Being in the league for five years, I kinda knew what it felt like for me to be in a good situation. I gotta look out for myself and do what I think is best. I kind of knew where it was headed fairly early on into the season, probably even training camp if I'm being honest. So when everything popped off, it was just like ‘Yeah, all right let’s get to work.’”

The 49ers are also looking for a mulligan on the 2024 season, so the partnership could turn out to be a winning one on multiple fronts this fall.