The Jets Are Trading For QB Geno Smith

Smith was one year into a lucrative contract extension that he had signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025. He went 2-13 as a starter this past season, throwing for 3,025 yards and 19 touchdowns with a league-leading 17 interceptions while completing 67.4-percent of his passes.

While that may seem awful for a starting QB, it still would have been significantly better than the combined production that the Jets got at quarterback from the combined might of Justin Fields, Tyrod Taylor and Brady Cook. Those three combined for under 2,400 yards and just 14 touchdown passes.

Smith also took a league-high 55 sacks, which also would have been less than the combined sacks taken by those three quarterbacks.

Suffice it to say, he's an upgrade, if a marginal one.

Geno the Jet

Smith is no stranger to playing at MetLife Stadium or practicing in Florham Park though. He was the Jets' second-round pick in 2013 and went 8-8 as a starter while showing a little bit of promise as a rookie.

But things came crashing down for Smith in 2014 as he went 3-10 and got benched midseason. His 2015 season ended before it began as the hands (or in this case, fist) of a disgruntled teammate who punched him in the face and broke his jaw.

By 2016, he was relegated to being a backup and played in just two games before suffering a season-ending injury.

Smith was let go in 2017 and spent the next several years as a journeyman before reviving his career with the Seattle Seahawks and making the first of two Pro Bowls in 2022.

In three seasons with the Seahawks, Smith went 28-24 as a starter and won the 2022 Comeback Player of the Year award.

The Jets will hope that the 2022-2024 version of Smith is the one they're getting, and not the one who struggled to complete half of his passes over a decade ago.

Someone get Rex Ryan on the phone next.