Geno Smith knows redemption is in order as he came back to Jets with one clear message to the public

Geno Smith shocked the world by returning to the New York Jets, the place where his career started, and almost ended before an unlikely resurgence. During Thursday’s press conference, the quarterback said he is “eager to make things right if I can.”

As Smith pointed out, the Jets were “the organization that gave me a chance coming out of West Virginia and really believed in me,” even if things went really sour afterwards. Smith is now a much mature quarterback, and his best version could really help this team.

The quarterback had a much-maligned time with the Raiders, and between the lack of market looking for him, and the Jets needing a cheap quarterback to work with, the reunion was set.

Smith’s past with the Jets is dark

Smith’s past with the Jets has plenty of bad moments. For instance, the second round pick was trusted to bring success to the team and he failed. Smith had a 12-18 record, completing just 57.9% of his passes for 5,962 yards, 28 touchdowns and 36 interceptions. On the gridiron, Smith was just not good enough to be labeled a franchise quarterback.

Also, the elephant in the room… Smith’s time with the Jets was marked by a “sucker punch” connected by IK Enemkpali that broke Smith’s jaw in two places. This was due to Smith no-showing Enemkpali’s football camp and failing to reimburse him the flight money. Smith missed multiple months and that allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick to become the starter of the team.

see also

NY Jets’ cap space situation and what comes next: How much flexibility do they have in 2026?

Smith needs to prove he still belongs

Hence, not only does Smith need to make things right with the Jets, but he also needs to prove he still has a spot in the NFL. After shining for five years with the Seahawks, he had a very bad stint with the Raiders in 2025. There he got benched and still led the NFL in interceptions. Now at 36 years old, he will try to still prove he belongs as a QB1.