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Geno Smith is back with the New York Jets this season, and he’s certainly hoping his second stint with the team that drafted him goes more according to plan. When Smith was taken in the second round out of West Virginia, he had just two seasons in the starting quarterback role, where the team went 11-18 in those games, and an infamous locker room punch ultimately led to Ryan Fitzpatrick stepping in during 2015 as the team’s starter. Fitzpatrick, now out of the game and serving as an analyst for "Thursday Night Football," believes the Jets are getting a completely different Smith this time around. And he thinks it’s coming at the perfect time for a franchise in desperate need of veteran leaders.
"This is like a Hollywood script that you wouldn’t even believe," Fitzpatrick told Fox News Digital, while highlighting his partnership with VRST, the men's activewear and apparel brand from DICK'S Sporting Goods. "Demario Davis is back, too. I have a couple of teammates that are back there. But I think the one thing they’ve been craving for years now is leadership, and hopefully Geno’s able to come in and provide that."
Smith’s career took the path of a backup, one many believed he would be moving forward, never again reaching the heights of a starter unless necessary with the team he signed for. He infamously got the nod for one game in 2017 for the New York Giants, which ended Eli Manning’s 210 consecutive starts streak. Then, after a stint with the Los Angeles Chargers, Smith landed as the backup to Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks. It was in the Pacific Northwest where Smith got his big break, staying on as the team’s starter in 2022 when Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos. He won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award, and the veteran proved he can still be the franchise leader on offense.