Geno Smith has rare chance to rewrite his volatile Jets history…
NASHVILLE, Tenn — Geno Smith has authored quite a few chapters in his NFL profession, which started with the Jets in 2013 once they drafted him in the second round with hopes he’d turn out to be their franchise quarterback for years to come.
Act I Geno didn’t end effectively.
The Jets and their expectant fan base hope Act II, which begins Sunday against the Titans in the 2026 season opener, has a a lot better ending than the first one Smith lived with the group.
Jets quarterback Geno Smith stretches during observe in Florham Park, N.J., on Friday, September 11, 2026. Bill Kostroun for NY Post
As for Smith, he hopes this chapter turns out to be a lot less volatile than some of the ones he’s authored in his star-crossed, 12-season profession.
If he has had one superpower in his profession it has been his exceptional resiliency. Players less resilient can be lengthy out of the league by now. Smith, however, carries on. Sunday marks his starting as a starter for a fourth team, second time with the Jets.
Many quarterbacks don’t get a second chance after it fails to work out. Few get a 3rd chance.
Smith is on his fourth stint as a starter. He was the starter his first two seasons with the Jets, however after Year 4 he was let go. He bounced round as a backup for a number of years — with the Giants, Chargers and Seahawks. Finally, in 2022, he earned a beginning gig again in his third season in Seattle. That position last three seasons before he was traded to the Raiders in 2025, which become a 2-13 nightmare season for him.
Now he’s again with the Jets, and fourth flip as a starter. What lies ahead for Smith in this latest chapter of his profession?
Sunday he shall be going through an aggressive Titans protection under head coach Robert Saleh, who preceded current Jets head coach Aaron Glenn.
Geno Smith in 2013 during his first stint with the Jets. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Frank Reich, the Jets offensive coordinator and a former long-time NFL quarterback, has big plans for Smith. Reich said “resilient” is the “right word” to describe Smith.
“Mentally resilient,” Reich said this week. “He never lets his guard down, at least not that I ever see. He comes to work to get better. He’s all ball, all the time. I love that resilience and mentality in him.”
When it was talked about to Reich that Smith never appears to lose the chip on his shoulder, he said, “I really feel that chip on his shoulder every day, and I hope he never loses it.
“He also has a streak of aggressiveness that I hope he never loses, because that’s what it takes to be nice at the quarterback place. You have to have the confidence to imagine in your self, make performs, imagine in your teammates, and provides them a chance to make performs too.
“Geno has that, and he’s demonstrated it every day, every week.”
On Sunday, it’ll be time for him to show it in a game that counts.
Smith went 8-8 in his rookie yr as the Jets starter, then 3-10 in his second yr, throwing 34 interceptions across those two years.
Then, in August of the 2015 season, poised to start a 3rd yr with the Jets, Smith was famously punched out by teammate, linebacker IK Enemkpali, in a locker room dispute over Smith not paying Enemkpali cash he owed him and that successfully ended Smith’s Jets profession.
Smith this week called it “an honor to be back” with the team a second time “to have the opportunity to be a part of this organization again, to lead this team, this young talented group of guys who work extremely hard.”
He was not too long ago named one in all the offensive captains, voted by the gamers, and said he relishes the title.
“I told those guys I’m going to wear that captain’s patch with pride because there are so many guys on this team who could’ve been easily voted captain … [and] I’m representing all the guys,” he said.
“You don’t make it this long in the league without that sense of professionalism, that sense of accountability in everything you do,” tight end Jeremy Ruckert told The Post. “You see how he comes to work every day, how early he’s in meetings, how he carries himself, and it permeates throughout the locker room. He does a really good job leading by example. You can tell how resilient he is based on his career path, but also in how committed he is to being in this locker room and making a difference here again.”
Receiver Adonai Mitchell also professed his “ton of respect” for Smith.
“When you’re down, you have to pull yourself up,” Mitchell told The Post. “Nobody’s going to do it for you, and he’s done a great job of that. You can tell just by how he carries himself, the things he’s been through. He just wants to win, and that attitude echoes throughout the offense, because we all put our eyes on the quarterback. He’s our leader.”
Smith has come a good distance since his first stint with the Jets.
Jets quarterback Geno Smith speaks to the media after observe on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, in Florham Park, NJ. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
“With experience comes a lot of maturity,” he said. “I’ve gained a ton of experience, I’ve been in a number of markets, I’ve performed lots of soccer in my time. So, I just perceive that all you possibly can look ahead to is each and every alternative. I embrace the challenges.
“I know that there’s a great opportunity in front of this team.”
It’s a chance that might be seized only if the quarterback performs at a high level.
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