Its been more than a month since Geno Smith‘s season was derailed by a locker room punch and he’s still pretty mad about it.
“I’m extremely (angry),” said the Jets quarterback, according to Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday. “But I have to keep my temper down. I can’t exhibit that in the locker room, I can’t exhibit that on a daily basis. I just feel for my family more because they enjoy seeing me out there.”
As Smith is on the mend, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll have the starting job upon his return. Right now, the Jets appear to have found a suitable replacement after Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 31-10 win over the Browns. Here’s more from the AFC East..
- New Ravens linebacker Jason Babin is still perplexed by the Jets‘ decision to release him and he decided to take a couple shots at Gang Green, as Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com writes. “Obviously, it was a surprise,” Babin said. “I think the coach said they want to win. But then in hindsight … the general manager talked about building. Who knows what is exactly going on?” Babin, 35, notched two sacks and 27 quarterback hurries in 2014, which was his first season of a three-year, $8.275MM contract with the Jets. New York saved $1.5MM against the cap by releasing him. Babin, meanwhile, is expected to help Baltimore’s front seven, which is now without Terrell Suggs.
- New acquisition Keshawn Martin will bring speed and return experience to the Patriots, things that New England needs, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. Reiss senses that the Patriots probably feel a bit more comfortable with his experience as a returner than someone like rookie Chris Harper.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap (on Twitter) wonders if there’s any kind of market for Jets wide receiver Jeremy Kerley. In retrospect, Fitzgerald writes that Kerley’s deal just seems like a mistake. The wide receiver played just one snap in the team’s opener against the Browns.