Geno Smith

Latest On Jets’ Quarterback Change

October 19th, 2016 at 8:09pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Before Jets head coach Todd Bowles demoted quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a backup role Wednesday, members of the team’s front office “made it clear” that they wanted Geno Smith to start, according to Brian Costello of the New York Post. Nevertheless, sources told Costello that the decision was ultimately up to Bowles.

Team owner Woody Johnson gave both Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan votes of confidence Wednesday. However, the second-year head coach could face job security questions in the coming months if the team’s skid continues under Smith, per Costello, who writes that Fitzpatrick is unlikely to start another game with the Jets. If Smith stumbles, the team could turn to one of its more recent draft picks, 2015 fourth-rounder Bryce Petty or rookie second-rounder Christian Hackenberg, in an effort to find a long-term solution.

Fitzpatrick and Smith are scheduled to become free agents at season’s end. The younger of the two, Smith, just turned 26 last week and – based on both that and his second-round pedigree – might have untapped potential. The fourth-year man has been subpar during his NFL career, though, having completed just 57.9 percent of passes to accompany 27 touchdowns and 36 interceptions in 32 appearances (29 starts).

Picks have also been a problem for the 33-year-old Fitzpatrick, who’s last in the league in INTs (11) and passer rating (63.4) in 2016. In the latest (and perhaps final) start of his Jets career, Fitzpatrick hit on a mere 16 of 31 passes for 174 yards and a pick in the club’s 28-3 road loss to Arizona on Monday. That dropped the Jets to 1-5, a far cry from the 10-6 mark they posted with an effective Fitzpatrick at the helm last season.

Fitzpatrick expressed disappointment in his relegation to the bench Wednesday, telling reporters – including Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday – that “I don’t like it.” At the same time, he understands Bowles’ choice.

“I haven’t played well. I think that’s the bottom line,” admitted Fitzpatrick. “I’ve been around and been at it long enough to know that when you’re 1-5, usually good things aren’t happening, and it’s not all smiles in the building. So I don’t want to say that I expected it, but it’s not shocking to me that they wanted to change things up.”

With Fitzpatrick on the sidelines, the Smith-led Jets will attempt to begin turning their season around Sunday against the Ravens.

Jets To Start Geno Smith, Bench Fitzpatrick

October 19th, 2016 at 10:01am CST by Zachary Links

It’s Geno Smith time in New York. The Jets are planning to start Smith and bench Ryan Fitzpatrick, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Jets head coach Todd Bowles pulled Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter of the team’s 28-3 loss to the Cardinals on Monday, but he gave the veteran quarterback a vote of confidence after the game. However, he was far less definitive when discussing the QB situation yesterday. Last night, Jets coaches huddled up and decided that Smith is the better choice for their team at this time.

Smith, a 2013 second-round pick, has been largely ineffective throughout his NFL career. Last season, Smith was hoping to prove his doubters wrong but never got the opportunity after he had his jaw broken in a now infamous locker room skirmish. Smith’s mid-season promotion will likely be his last chance to take the reins in New York.

On Monday, Smith was brought off the bench late in the game and completed 4 of 6 passes for 31 yards and an interception. In 32 games (29 starts), the West Virginia product has tossed 36 picks against 27 touchdowns. Needless to say, he’ll have to do much better than that to keep the starting job.

Fitzpatrick was embroiled in a high-profile contract standoff with the Jets this offseason. Initially, the Harvard product demanded to be paid in line with his 2015 performance on a multi-year deal. Skeptical of whether the career journeyman could deliver again, the Jets insisted on a mid-range deal that would allow them to bail after just one season. The two sides eventually landed closer to Fitzpatrick’s side, but the Jets must be grateful that they did not give into his demands or public pressure.

Through six games, Fitzpatrick is pretty much at the bottom of the NFL in most notable passing categories, including last-place rankings in interceptions (11) and QB rating (63.4).

After getting smashed 28-3 by Arizona, Smith will now look to lead Gang Green to victory at home against the Ravens on Sunday.

Jets Could Make Quarterback Change

October 18th, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Jets head coach Todd Bowles pulled Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fourth quarter of the team’s 28-3 loss to the Cardinals on Monday, but he gave the veteran quarterback a vote of confidence after the game.

“Fitz will be back next week … It definitely wasn’t Fitz’s fault. He barely had any time to throw,” said Bowles, whose team dropped to 1-5 (via NFL.com).

Bowles was far less definitive on Wednesday, indicating that he and his staff will decide on a starting signal-caller for Week 7 at a Tuesday night meeting, per Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post.

That could open the door for backup Geno Smith to grab the reins from Fitzpatrick against the Ravens this Sunday. The 2013 second-round pick has been ineffective throughout his NFL career, though, and that continued Monday. After taking over late in the game, Smith completed 4 of 6 passes for 31 yards and an interception. In 32 games (29 starts), the ex-West Virginia star has tossed 36 picks against 27 touchdowns.

Despite his poor track record, Smith told ESPN’s Lisa Salters before the Jets’ loss to the Cardinals that he was “getting antsy” to play.

Bowles addressed that Tuesday, saying that he doesn’t “have any thoughts on backup players saying anything. They’re backups for a reason. but Bowles liked what he saw Monday. If they get a chance to play, they’d better prove themselves to be worthy of playing regardless of who they are.”

That’s a strong statement, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes, but Bowles did credit Smith for his brief appearance in relief of Fitzpatrick.

“(Smith) did show some promise when he was in there. He understood the game plan. He did good for the drive he was in there (for),” Bowles stated Tuesday (via Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com).

Smith is in a contract year, so another chance to start for the 26-year-old would likely represent make-or-break time for his tenure with the Jets. Otherwise, the team also has two more recent draft picks – 2015 fourth-rounder Bryce Petty and rookie second-rounder Christian Hackenberg – on hand. Bowles revealed Tuesday that going to either of them sometime this season is “definitely possible.”

Having to use any of their reserve signal-callers obviously isn’t what the playoff-hopeful Jets had in mind entering the season. Thanks in part to a career year from Fitzpatrick, Gang Green went 10-6 and narrowly missed out on a wild-card berth last season. After a months-long offseason tug of war over a contract with Fitzpatrick, then a free agent, the Jets brought the journeyman back on a one-year deal worth a fully guaranteed $12MM in July. The 34-year-old now sits toward the bottom of the league in most notable passing categories, including last-place rankings in interceptions (11) and QB rating (63.4).

Although Fitzpatrick’s Jets career is on track to end after the season, he’ll still count $5MM against their salary cap in 2017.

QB Notes: Kaepernick, Romo, Fitzpatrick

October 9th, 2016 at 10:11am CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier today that Brian Hoyer will remain the starter in Chicago if he continues to play well, regardless of Jay Cutler‘s health. Now let’s take a look at some other teams facing various types of quarterback dilemmas:

Ian Rapoport of NFL.com chimes in on the Colin Kaepernick situation, reporting that the 49ers are indeed mulling a move to pull starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert in favor of Kaepernick. Although head coach Chip Kelly has not yet had conversations with his full staff regarding his quarterback conundrum, he has had informal, exploratory discussions about making a move. There are, of course, several factors that could influence Kelly’s decision, including Kaepernick’s contract situation–a restructured deal would make San Francisco more willing to put No. 7 on the field–and his health. Although Kaepernick is not yet back to his normal playing weight, his arm at least is back to full strength, and he appears more at ease with his teammates then he has in years past. He does not consistently outperform Gabbert in practice, but at this point, a change probably makes sense and could happen soon.
Despite a great deal of discussion to the contrary, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that there is “zero chance” the Cowboys will start Dak Prescott over a healthy Tony Romo. Romo remains on track to return for the team’s Week 8 matchup against Philadelphia, and the Cowboys believe a healthy Romo will help open up the offense. Although Prescott has played well and is viewed as the quarterback of the future, the Cowboys are running a constricted version of the offense for him, allowing him to be something of a game manager (he has attempted just seven passes that have traveled 20 yards or more in the air). So far all the talk that Romo would become Dallas’ answer to Wally Pipp, that does not appear to be the case.
In a separate piece, La Canfora writes that the Jets have seen enough of Ryan Fitzpatrick‘s turnover issues and that Gang Green is prepared to make a change if Fitz does not reverse the trend immediately. La Canfora says that Fitzpatrick is essentially playing for his job against Pittsburgh this week, and with Geno Smith showing some signs of life in practice, the team would not be averse to handing the reins to Smith if Fitzpatrick struggles against the Steelers (the Jets believe that neither Bryce Petty nor Christian Hackenberg is ready to become the next young quarterback to take the league by storm).
Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that, if Robert Griffin III is able to play again this season, the Browns will give him a chance, regardless of how Cody Kessler is performing at that point (unless, of course, Kessler is playing at an Aaron Rodgers level). However, it is unlikely that RGIII will be healthy enough to return this year, so Cleveland will probably not have to make that decision.

Jets To Keep Four QBs

September 3rd, 2016 at 1:05pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

The Jets are likely to retain all four of their quarterbacks, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). That means roster spots will go to Ryan Fitzpatrick, Geno Smith, Bryce Petty and rookie Christian Hackenberg.

As the starter, Fitzpatrick was a shoo-in all along. So was Hackenberg, whom the Jets chose in the second round of this year’s draft. Questions surrounded Smith and Petty, though cutting or trading the former would have left the Jets without an experienced backup. Petty, meanwhile, was a fourth-rounder just a year ago, so it’s not surprising that New York is hesitant to move on from him. He did leave the Jets’ preseason finale with a bruised shoulder, but head coach Todd Bowles said afterward that he didn’t suffer any structural damage.

Jets Receiving Trade Interest In Geno Smith?

August 29th, 2016 at 9:15am CST by Zachary Links

Does Geno Smith have trade value? Apparently, there are at least a couple of teams out there with at least a little bit of interest in the Jets quarterback. There is “soft interest around the league in Smith,” according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.

Teams have called the Jets to ask about their surplus players at a few different positions, including quarterback. Those types of calls are very common during this time of year when teams are trimming down from 90 to 75, then from 75 to 53. However, it’s interesting to note that some executives are intrigued by Smith despite his struggles in New York and his awful luck in 2015.

For his part, Smith said this summer that he will not rule out a future with the Jets in 2017 and beyond. The Jets, meanwhile, seem to have other plans at the position. Ryan Fitzpatrick will be the starter this season and the Jets are hoping that rookie Christian Hackenberg will be the go-to guy down the line. That leaves Bryce Petty and Smith to battle over the primary backup spot and some reports have indicated that Petty has looked better than Smith so far this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

AFC Notes: Harrison, Jets, Revis, Petty, Bills

August 19th, 2016 at 6:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Forget the Olympics or the first presidential debate – could the NFL’s interview with Steelers linebacker James Harrison be the must-watch event of the year? If Harrison has his way, his interview with league investigators over PED claims will be live on TV for all to see.

“If it leads to the hands of that crook, I mean Roger Goodell, he can do whatever he wants,” Harrison said (via Sports Illustrated). “Whatever evidence they might have or reasoning for questioning for me is out of my control, I don’t know. I wouldn’t have a problem with it being filmed live. I’ve been prosecuted and persecuted publicly in the media by them for something I didn’t do, so I don’t see why we couldn’t have the media there and do a live interview.”

Extra Points: Geno, C. Jones, Pats, TEs

August 11th, 2016 at 8:56pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

It has been exactly one year since former Jets linebacker IK Enemkpali radically changed the franchise’s course by breaking quarterback Geno Smith‘s jaw with a punch. Ryan Fitzpatrick, the prospective backup, took the Jets’ job and ran with it during Smith’s multiple-month absence, posting career-best numbers for a 10-win team. While Smith was the Jets’ de facto starter during Fitzpatrick’s months-long contract dispute with the team, he reverted to a reserve role after Fitzpatrick re-signed in July. Enemkpali, meanwhile, has been with AFC East rival Buffalo since it claimed him off waivers the day after his altercation with Smith. In hindsight, Smith is seemingly glad the incident occurred.

“When I look back on this when I’m 40, 50 years old, I’ll ask myself, ‘What time in my life made me a man?’ I think this was that time in my life,” the fourth-year man told Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “It was so easy to say, ‘Hey, this is not my fault. I’m the victim here, and this guy should be going to jail.’ Instead, I manned up. I owned it. I took responsibility for whatever actions I had in that altercation, and I chose to let that fuel me to become a better man and a better player.”

In the Jets’ preseason opener Thursday, Smith completed 8 of 14 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown against the Jaguars.

Here’s more from around the sport:

Shortly after New England traded Chandler Jones to Arizona in March, the pass-rushing force called Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to thank him. “I didn’t get a chance to speak to him (the day of the trade) — he was on a flight or something,” Jones informed Tom Pelissero of USA Today. “But I called him the next day and said, ‘Hey, you could’ve traded me to any other team, so thank you for not trading me to a crappy team.’” Belichick laughed, according to Jones, who went on to tell Pelissero that the Pats aren’t “known for really paying guys over there.” Nevertheless, the contract-year defender found the trade “a tad shocking.”
There are a bunch of teams making calls looking for depth tight ends, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) hears. He expects that market to pick up over the next few weeks.
The Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League released former NFL running back Joe McKnight on Wednesday, according to Gerry Moddejonge of the Edmonton Journal. McKnight, whom the Jets chose in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, had some success in New York as a return man, but the former USC Trojan’s two fumbled punt returns in Edmonton helped cost him his CFL job. McKnight was in his first year playing in Canada and last saw NFL action as a member of the Chiefs in 2014, with whom he tore his Achilles.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Jets Notes: Marshall, Geno Smith, Clady

August 10th, 2016 at 12:10pm CST by Zachary Links

Business is booming in the NFL, but the players that help create billions of dollars in revenue still don’t have it as good as players in MLB and the NBA when it comes to guaranteed cash. The league’s current CBA doesn’t expire until after the 2020 season, but Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall would like to see the players’ union fight for serious contract reform in the next round of talks.

“I think it would be the biggest fight we’ve ever had to get that done,” Marshall told Manish Mehta of the Daily News.

Marshall also spoke specifically about DeAndre Hopkins‘ brief holdout and intimated that the Texans star didn’t go far enough by only staying away from the team for 24 hours. Marshall acknowledges that there “shouldn’t be any holdouts” but he sees them as a necessary evil as teams are often unwilling to discuss a new deal until they have to.

Here’s more on Gang Green:

Many would say that the writing is on the wall for quarterback Geno Smith, but the Jets’ former starter won’t rule out a future with the team in 2017 and beyond, NJ.com’s Connor Hughes writes. He also claims that he never considered asking for a trade, despite being parked squarely behind veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. “Because I’m not afraid of anything,” Smith said when pressed on the matter. “I know I can be out there and win games. I know I can be great. But right now, it’s time for me to practice patience.” Aside from Fitzpatrick, the Jets also have former Baylor QB Bryce Petty and rookie Christian Hackenberg on the roster, as shown on their Roster Resource depth chart.
The Jets’ trade for offensive lineman Ryan Clady will prove to be a smart move, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com opines. By acquiring Clady from Denver, GM Mike Maccagnan bought low on a former Pro Bowler, giving them a very capable fill-in for the retired D’Brickashaw Ferguson. The Jets’ first choice was to sign free agent Kelechi Osemele, but Gang Green found a cheaper alternative in the soon-to-be 30-year-old.
Could the Jets carry all four quarterbacks on the roster in Week 1? Coach Todd Bowles claims that it’s a possibility.

AFC Notes: Brown, Steelers, Geno, Jets, Bills

July 29th, 2016 at 6:52pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

While all-world receiver Antonio Brown is confident that the Steelers will address his contract before the beginning of the regular season, the team is unlikely to rip it up in favor of a new deal, reports Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The club could instead advance Brown $2MM in salary for the second straight year and then negotiate a new accord with him at season’s end. However, there is precedent for the Steelers giving Brown a new deal with two years left on it, as Fittipaldo notes. Pittsburgh handed Brown a five-year, $41MM contract after the 2011 season, his second in the NFL. Although Brown is underpaid on his current deal relative to his stellar production, Fittipaldo points out that, between what the Steelers signed him to in 2012 and will award him on his next contract, the 28-year-old will earn far more than many other members of the 2010 draft class (Dez Bryant, for instance).

Elsewhere around the AFC…

The Jets finally re-signed quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick earlier this week, leading to questions about fellow signal-caller’s Geno Smith roster status. It turns out that New York does not plan to move on from Smith this summer, general manager Mike Maccagnan said Friday (Twitter link via Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday). Asked if Smith will be on the Jets’ Week 1 roster, Maccagnan stated, “I would assume so. Right now, I know we like Geno Smith… Geno’s in our plans.” In addition to Smith, who has struggled since the Jets chose him in the second round of the 2013 draft, Gang Green has rookie second-rounder Christian Hackenberg and 2015 fourth-rounder Bryce Petty in reserve. With those two around and Smith’s lack of long-term security (he’ll be a free agent after the season), this is likely his final year with the franchise.
The Bills are “standing pat” with their quarterbacks, GM Doug Whaley said Friday (Twitter link via Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News). Buffalo was reportedly in the hunt for free agent Nick Foles after the Rams released him Thursday, though Carucci quickly shot that down. Behind starter Tyrod Taylor, who’s a candidate for a contract extension, the Bills have EJ Manuel and rookie fourth-rounder Cardale Jones as options. Manuel’s career strongly resembles Smith’s: Both were high picks in 2013 (Manuel went in Round 1) and have since failed to established themselves as starting-caliber NFL QBs. Manuel, like Smith, is in a contract year and could be in his last season with the club that drafted him. The ex-Florida State Seminole appeared in seven games (two starts) in 2015 and went 52 of 84 with three touchdowns and three interceptions.
Speaking of Carucci, the insider shared his thoughts on several Bills topics with PFR’s Zach Links on Friday.
The Titans added a household name to their receiving corps Friday, agreeing to a deal with Andre Johnson.

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